Blindsided
by DoctorWhoObsessed7
Summary: This is a story of Hotch's niece and a certain young doctor. I'm a new writer, so please be kind :) Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note:

Instead of being 22 when he joins the BAU, Spencer is 18. This is set during season five, after Hotch's leave of absence following Haley's death etc. Spencer is 24.

Instead of Sean and Hotch being only children, they have another brother named Jeremy that died of cancer about ten years ago. Jeremy had a child named Avery, but Hotch and Sean haven't seen her in years because of her mother's reaction to her husband's death.

I haven't ever written any fanfiction or anything like that before, so please be kind!

Oh, and I don't own Criminal Minds or any characters from the show, or the killers that the unsub is based upon!

Chapter One: Reid's POV

"Let's go guys", Hotch announced as we headed out to another case, though this time (thankfully) one in our own backyard. Instead of having to rush off onto the BAU's own jet, we speedily walked into the black, FBI issued Ford Escalades that we used when cases happened to fall near enough to Quantico. This time, the case was on a serial killer who appeared to be targeting victims in Washington D.C. The only connection between any of the people was the fact that they had all been living in a homeless shelter, they were all women, and they were all between the ages of 18-22. I was never really sure if being on a local case was actually any better than jetting off to another location; being on a case here meant that the danger was closer. It was more real.

Hotch, Rossi, and I headed to the local shelters to speak to some of the victim's friends, living mates, generally anyone who would be able to help us with a more accurate profile of the unsub. Morgan and Prentiss went to review the newest crime scene. It appears that the girls were taken from the shelters, or from the streets (in the case of one prostitute out of the 3 victims we'd found so far). At the very least we had to interview their friends at the shelters, and give out flyers, explain the dangers this unsub presented them with. It didn't really seem fair; these people had enough to worry about. ,

After carefully interviewing many of the volunteers and residents of 2 of D.C.'s largest shelters we had found nothing on the previous victims that further connected them, or really helped build the profile at all. I anxiously bit my nails, a bad habit I'd had since I was a child. I didn't like that we hadn't learned anything further about the case. Not being able to put a face and M.O. to the unsub was beyond a pet peeve for me, it was like my kryptonite. I didn't understand, he targeted women who all ultimately had families in the shelters that would notice their absence. If you were going to target the homeless, wouldn't their supposed anonymity be the main reason? There were so many pieces of this profile that we were missing; I bit my thumbnail harder.

As we walked into the third shelter Rossi recited, "The George Washington Family Center. One of the last places our latest victim was found. Provides temporary living for families with children, and twice daily meals for anyone who needs it".

"Perfect place for our unsub to hunt", replied Hotch as we opened the doors. I grimaced not comfortable with the idea of someone who hunts humans, much less families. Children. Some aspects of this job just did not get easier with time.

Hotch was already talking to the head volunteer about the victim that had been taken from the streets; the prostitute that had been killed had been living here for a few weeks. Apparently she had left a baby boy, along with a nearly 18 year old son devastated. After he had been told what happened he had been found by his maternal grandmother who had taken him in. Garcia had been particularly disturbed by that; it took her own daughter's death to convince her to take her grandchildren in. She was a wealthy women, she just seemingly didn't want to take care of her family, until she was forced to.

As Hotch and Rossi talked with the woman who ran the shelter, I began scanning the room, taking notice of the large number of women and children. Many were playing games on the floor, well-worn Candylands or decks of cards that looked a little thinner than 52 cards. No one seemed to mind, they contentedly bustled about their tasks with easy familiarity. Other families simply sat on the floors, talking or telling stories to their children. I was reminded of the stories my own mother had told me, although I was fairly certain that none of these children were being recited Chaucer's Parlement of Fouls.

I quickly narrowed the amount of women that we should interview and warn, the unsub seemed to favor women with lighter features; two of the victims had blonde hair, the first was a brunette. This particular unsub also chose women with families. As I surveyed the amount of women that fit our victimology in this shelter, I silently agreed with Hotch. If there were a perfect hunting ground for this unsub, it was here.

As I was thinking, my thoughts were broken by a young boy's exclaim, "It's him Avery! Dats him! He's the Doctor!"

Just as I turned to see who he was talking to, I felt a little body attach itself to my leg. I turned to see a small boy, whom I estimated to be about 4 based upon his height and speech patterns, had indeed grabbed onto my pants pocket and was looking quite expectantly up at me. I couldn't help but smile at his innocent face; the boy had big blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. Ordinarily I would have been uncomfortable with the sudden invasion of my personal space, but there was something about this boy that I liked. Maybe it was the Doctor Who reference that I was nearly certain he was making, or maybe it was something else but I felt a connection to him.

I knelt down and said, "I wish I could say that I was the Doctor little man, I really do believe me, but sadly I'm just Spencer". I saw the disappointment flash across his face, poorly concealed, typical of children. I'd always had a soft spot for children, I liked how they didn't try to hide their emotions. I had the sudden urge to take away that disappointment, it didn't suit this boy.

"But, he did teach me a few things the last time I met him. Like how to make money", I said, pulling a quarter from behind his ear. As soon as I showed the money to him, his eyes doubled in size, and all semblance of disappointment gone.

"AVERY", he exclaimed. "He's met the Doctor!" As he yelled for the second time, a young woman (who I presumed to be his sister, children didn't refer to their mothers by their first name) approached. I straightened up and took a look at the woman, whom I now realized had been watching from afar the whole time. She pushed a large, double stroller that had a baby in the back seat and the front seat removed. In the place of the seat were a few duffle bags, a backpack, and a diaper bag. She was of average height, blonde hair and the same blue eyes as the young boy. She wore a pair of simple black leggings, a black t-shirt with the Nirvana logo on the front, and a pair of old, worn hi—top converse. Her blonde hair was long, down to the curve of her bottom, and naturally wavy. It reminded me of all the pictures and drawings I'd ever seen of mermaid women. I noted a half sleeve of tattoos on her right arm, black and white roses with some sort of musical staff with a quote in place of the notes on her inner forearm. There was another type of tattoo on her lower left calf, a ribbon of sorts, but one made of words of different colors and fonts. They were the only ones that I could see, but her general appearance told me that there were probably more that weren't visible. She had some of those things in her ears that people used to stretch their ears, and a ring in her nose. All of those things I generally didn't find attractive, but on her they just seemed to _work._ To put things simply, she was beautiful.

"Avery, Avery!" he said excitedly.

"Henry, Henry!" she replied, smiling and getting down to his level.

"Avery he says he met the doctor, and then he… and then… and then he found money behind my ears and he says the Doctor taught him!" he explained in his sweet little voice.

"Ohhh he did, did he?" she said, looking up amusedly at me. I was caught off guard by her eyes, they were so pale it was almost hypnotic. I half-smiled back, without realizing I was.

"Uh yes I was just showing this little guy how the Doctor taught me to make money", I said while reaching behind her ear, touching her soft blonde hair as I did so. My hand wavered, unprepared for the sudden urge to tangle my hands in her hair. My slight falter (thankfully) went unnoticed by Avery; her smile widened as I pulled the quarter from her silky locks.

"Ah I see", she said, taking the quarter from my hand. "Maybe he can teach us his tricks Hen. What do you think should we ask?" she said finally breaking eye contact and getting back down to his level. I got down to his level as well, as his innocent face looked back up at me.

"Henry huh? You know I have a godson. His name is Henry too", I said smiling at him. "So Henry, would you like to learn my secret?" I asked. Before, he could answer, the baby from the stroller let out a cry. Avery turned away from Henry and me, and began to take her out, cooing at her to calm her down. She pulled out a baby, approximately 5 months old from the stroller. It was a baby girl, chubby, with the same blue eyes as her siblings.

"Henry why don't you look for your screwdriver to show Mr. ..?" she turned to look at me, expecting me to fill in the blank.

"Spencer. Uh Dr. Spencer Reid. I'm with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit", I explained to Avery, "I would love to see it little man", I added to Henry. He nodded vigorously and began searching through some of the bags inside the stroller.

"FBI?" Avery questioned, looking at my with a hardened expression. "Are you here to talk about Sammy?" she guessed, shifting from foot to foot to placate the now happy baby girl.

"Uh yes we're here to question anyone who might have information on Samantha Barks, and to warn everyone about the uh dangers of strangers", I explained. I was still hypnotized by her eyes, she looked me directly in the eyes for the whole conversation. "Did you know her?"

"Yes, Sammy and her kids had the room next to ours. I watched her baby while she was gone and David needed to get to school", she said stoically. She seemed like she was putting on some sort of brave front, as if she wasn't really scared. Years of profiling clued me into the fact that's she was really probably in a state of grief or shock. Judging by her current situation, I guessed that she was used to being the strong one in her family. "She was doing her best, but she was getting more and more desperate for money. She was gone more and more, and I never asked where".

"Avery?" My reply was cut off by Hotch's exclamation of her name. We both turned to see his pale face. At first she looked surprised, then confused, but realization soon dominated her beautiful features.

"Aaron?" she said disbelievingly. She set her baby back into the stroller, and wrapped her arms around Hotch. He held her tightly, and closed his eyes, as if a huge weight had lifted off his shoulders. I felt a flash of jealousy burn through me; however unwarranted and unlikely, I wanted it to be me that she pulled into her arms. I cleared my throat loudly.

"Uh Hotch this is Avery. She lives in the shelter, I was just talking to her about Samantha. They were neighbors", I explained in the stunned silence that followed the break of their hug.

"Avery, who's this?" Henry questioned, coming back from the stroller.

"Henry, this is Aaron, he's our uncle", Avery replied in a shaky voice.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note:

I can't believe I already got two reviews on that first chapter! I have to say, they really made my day today. So much so, that I already have the second chapter up for you all! I promise to try and post at least one chapter a week, probably on the weekends (being that I both work and go to school full time).

Thank you so much to everyone who has read, followed, or reviewed! Keep it all coming.

Oh, and I don't own anything from Criminal Minds, I only own Avery, Henry, and the little baby girl (Amelia).

Chapter Two:

Reid's POV

"Niece?" I choked out. The beautiful girl that I was actually able to talk to was Hotch's niece? His _niece_?

"I wasn't aware that Sean had children", Rossi interjected.

"He doesn't", Hotch said finally, looking quite pale. "We have…had another brother. Jeremy".

"Jeremy was my father", said Avery, "He died when I was 10 years old. When he died my mom… burned her bridges. She had Henry, and later Amelia, and then she split. I've been taking care of them since".

"Avery… why didn't you call me, or Sean? Why didn't you… we could have helped you" Hotch said sadly. "I mean I didn't even know that we had… that you were taking… you can't be more than…"

"19", she interrupted. "I'm 19 now, but I turn 20 in a few days. Henry is four, and Amelia is 6 months" she gestured to each child as she said their age. "I have legal guardianship of both of them. I have a job, and we're only staying here temporarily. I just need to save up enough to be sure we won't have to worry about rent", she said. She seemed firm, resolute. She was sure she was doing the right thing. She was only 20? She seemed so much older, but I surmised that sort of demeanor came from having to grow up early. I suddenly felt a wave of fear, realizing that she was the perfect target for the unsub.

"Avery, this is ridiculous. You and the kids will come stay with Jack and me. This shelter… it's not a safe place for you to stay right now. You can stay with us for as long as you need to, please", Hotch said, almost pleadingly. It was strange to see my boss, my leader on the verge of some sort of emotional break.

"That's very kind of you Aaron, but you don't even know us. I mean when my dad died…", she said hesitantly.

"It doesn't matter", Hotch interrupted firmly. "You and Amelia are my nieces, Henry is my nephew, and you really aren't safe here. Please".

"He's right", I spoke up. Everyone looked at me. I cleared my throat nervously, "This shelter is the, uh, last place that our last victim was seen, and our, uh, unsub seems to target women who look a lot like you do". I didn't want to seem too eager to get her and Henry out of here, but I really didn't want her staying here any longer. I felt a strange connection to this girl, this girl that I'd only known for what? 15 minutes? I didn't understand my feelings as of this moment.

She looked around at all of our faces with a somewhat overwhelmed look. She lifted her hands in mock defeat.

"Alright, you guys win. We'll come!" she said finally, grinning at us.

Avery's POV

"Alright, you guys win. We'll come!" I said, throwing my hands up like I was surrendering. I grinned, I was never really opposed to the idea of going with Aaron. He'd always been a great uncle, my favorite in fact (Sean was always sort of young and aloof when I was a child). I knew that family was important for Amelia and Henry, but up until today I just assumed that would always just be the three of us. When I said earlier that mom had burned her bridges after dad died I was putting things mildly. Aaron knew that too. When she lost her husband she got rid of everything in her life that would remind her of him: pictures, clothes, and family members alike. I remembered that day very well, we came home from the funeral and she slowly began to pack up all of his things in his room. I can remember the fear I had, realizing that she was taking my dad away from me. I had sprinted downstairs and grabbed my favorite photo of us from the coffee table. I took the frame and threw it away and kept the picture in my sock drawer. After that she allowed no mention of my dad, and refused to let anyone that she equated with him to come near us. To my extreme sadness, that included both Sean and Aaron. They called, mom wouldn't answer, they came by and she sent them away. That must have taken a toll on Aaron as well, not being able to see the one thing his brother left on earth. Me. With all those memories swimming around in mind, I wrapped my uncle into another hug.

"Good, that's settled then", the older man next to Aaron said as we broke apart. I wasn't clear on his name, but he seemed to work with Spencer and Aaron. "Why don't you gather your things, we're just leaving anyway. You seemed to be the closest one to Samantha, and we've given the woman in charge our card, in case anyone thinks of anything else", he continued.

"You're looking at all of our things", I said gesturing to Amelia's stroller. Henry was still digging in the various bags and backpacks looking for his screwdriver. Not that there was much to look through, but he could never seem to remember which bag was his.

"Okay", Aaron said after some hesitation. "Let's go. Do the kids have car seats?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Do I seem like I'm in any position to have a car Arrow?" I said sarcastically. He smiled in spite of my sass, most likely at my use of the nickname I'd given to him when I was small. I had trouble pronouncing Aaron, and thus Arrow was born. I was glad he remembered, and glad I didn't have to call him Aaron. It felt too formal, too grown-up. "We take the bus everywhere. I have my old student ID from high school, I 'lost' it just before I graduated. They gave me a new one, and it doesn't expire for another 2 years. Students around here ride for free", I explained with a smirk. I saw Spencer smile at me, as if he appreciated my plan. Or, perhaps he was just humoring me. I mean, there was no way that he actually appreciated the underhanded ways that I managed to survive.

"Okay so what if Spencer and I drove back, and you ride on the bus with her back to the BAU?" the older man asked. "We could pick up some car seats on the way, meet you at the office".

"Dave, you don't have your license, and I would prefer if Spencer didn't drive the FBI's car. If he gets one more ticket, Strauss will throw a hissy fit", Aaron said. "Dave you and I will drive to get the car seats, and Spencer can go with Avery, Henry, and Amelia on the bus. We can all meet back at the BAU. I'll take Avery and the kids from there", he reasoned out in an authoritative tone. I got the sense that of the three agents in front of me, Arrow was in charge. It made sense, even when I was little I remembered him working a lot.

Spencer cleared his throat once more. Either he had a serious tickle in his throat, or he did that when he was nervous. Given the nervous way that he began biting his nails and the amount of times he said 'uh' in his recent conversation, I guessed the latter. I myself had bitten my nails since I could remember. The question was, why was he nervous? There was absolutely nothing remarkable about me, outside of my odd living situation. Plenty of girls took care of their siblings, plenty of girls looked just like I did (prettier even). He had nothing to be nervous about.

"I, uh, don't mind at all", Spencer finally said. I realized that he had been fairly quiet for the last ten minutes or so, probably just taking in the circus act that was my family life. I smiled at him, determined to erase the handsome man's nervousness. I felt the need to befriend him, just like I did with nearly everyone that I meet; the compulsion to make people like me was a constant factor of my personality. Luckily I usually found that to be an easy task, but he seemed different. In the best sense of the word. I was going to have to work for his affections. He smiled back, albeit nervously, and looked at Aaron and the older man.

"Good. It's 1:00, the next bus comes in 18 minutes, but it'll take us at least 10 to walk to it. We should get going", I explained to the men. "Arrow are you sure you know what car seats they'll need? Because to be honest, neither one of them has ever had one. I'm not even certain really what they would need", I said quietly. I was a little ashamed to admit that to them. Even when mom was around she was never a stellar motherly figure to any of her kids. She had Henry and Amelia and she seemed to feel as if that's where her responsibility ended. I had never had any money for a car, and no need for car seats.

Aaron gave me my own sassy face, raised eyebrow and all. "Yes Avery, I know what they need. We'll meet you all back at the BAU soon", he said. I grinned at his response. I may have my mother's blonde hair and blue eyes, but my face looked just like Aaron's, just like my father's. I watched as Arrow returned my grin, and then I turned to Spencer.

"Alright, let's go", I said. Arrow and the older man, whose name I think was Dave, gave Spencer and I a nod and walked briskly out of the front doors. Spencer stepped closer to me, hands in the pockets of his slacks, and smiled nervously.

"I, uh, don't know where the closest bus stop is", he said. "You'll have to show me the way".

"No problem Spence", I said with a genuine smile. He was just so cute when he was nervous. Too bad he looked like he was quite a bit older than me. And he'd introduced himself as Dr. Spencer Reid. Anyone who had dedicated that much of their life to academics would never consider a girl like me. As we stood and smiled at each other like idiots, Henry finally found his toy to show Spencer. As he ran up and excitedly grabbed Spencer's arm (a bad habit I was trying to break him of), Spencer finally broke eye contact and knelt down to his level, and began animatedly talking with Henry about his sonic screwdriver. I felt my heart melt with that one small action. Men who were genuinely good with kids, especially mine, were kryptonite to me. I watched their interaction with amusement, but eventually knelt down too.

"Hen? We have to go catch our bus baby. Can you climb in the stroller please? It's time for your rest time anyway", I said as I pulled a now sleeping Amelia out of the stroller.

"Okay, but. Is Spencer going to come with us? Cause I want him to come with", Henry said, looking between myself and Spencer with curiosity.

"Yes baby he's going to come with us", I said. "Now climb in, we gotta get going".

As he climbed into the stroller, I handed Amelia to Spencer. He straightened up and made an awkward sort of cradle with his arms. I chuckled.

"No no, just hold her like you would Henry. One hand under her bottom, let her head rest on your shoulder, and use your other hand to cradle her head. Trust me, she's too big to be held like you're trying", I explained. I watched as his face turned pink, and he reached for Amelia as he described. I placed my now open hand on his bicep (trying not to take note of how solid it felt under my touch) and said, "Don't worry about it. The only men in the world who know how to hold a baby, have one themselves. You did just fine". I gave his arm a squeeze before turning to Henry in the stroller, buckling him in.

"Ready?" I asked.

He cleared his throat once more, and nodded. I pushed the stroller out the door and down the street.

Reid's POV

As I awkwardly put my arms out as a cradle for the sleeping Amelia, I rather hoped that it was the right way to hold a baby. My experience with them was limited exclusively to my godson Henry, and I'd only held him a few times when he was a small baby. Avery giggled at me. I surmised that this was not how I was meant to hold a baby of Amelia's age and weight.

"No no, just hold her like you would Henry. One hand under her bottom, let her head rest on your shoulder, and use your other hand to cradle her head. Trust me, she's too big to be held like you're trying", she explained kindly. I felt my face flush red. The first time she asked me to do something and I was already messing it up. Way to go Spencer, I thought to myself. I took Amelia from her, just like she described and gave her an apologetic smile. She touched my right arm gently, and I felt a strange spark run through my entire body. I would ordinarily hate the invasion into my personal space, but I somehow really enjoyed how her hand felt on the thin button up sleeve I was wearing.

"Don't worry about it. The only men in the world who know how to hold a baby, have one themselves. You did just fine", she said, squeezing my arm reassuringly. As she knelt down to strap Henry into the stroller I let out a silent breath of air I wasn't aware I'd been holding. I watched her gently position Henry in the seat. I couldn't help but notice her form as she did it. Her clothes were average enough, but they left little of her body to my imagination. She was curvy, average height. As she shifted her soft hair out of the way I noted another tattoo peeking up from her left shoulder blade, this time a colorful one. It was positioned to low on her shoulder for me to see more than the top of what appeared to be a round shape. I wondered how someone so young had ended up with this large number of tattoos, she didn't strike me as the type to waste money on something like that. Bottom line, she was beautiful. I didn't know it was even possible for me to be so attracted to someone, even when Lila had kissed me I hadn't felt this level of affection for her. She soon straightened up, and turned to me once more.

"Ready?" she asked. I nodded, and cleared my throat. I sincerely hoped that she hadn't noticed my staring. I indicated that she should lead the way, and opened the front door for her. Out we went to catch the bus.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's note:

Hello all! Sorry for the slightly shorter length of this chapter, but I wanted to squeeze one more in before my busy week starts. I also apologize for the amount of Doctor Who references that are made in this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Criminal Mind, Doctor Who, or David Tennant!

Reid's POV:

As we walked down to the bus stop we shared a comfortable silence. Strange for me, seeing as I never really managed to stop talking most times. But with Avery the silence was comfortable, easy. She walked and pushed her stroller with an easy familiarity, I carried a still sleeping Amelia with a newfound sense of peace. Something about being able to actually hold a child for any length of time was new to me. Much like with adults, children had to adjust to my personality. Morgan and Prentiss called it the 'Reid effect', they rationalized that the initial dislike most people felt for me was really just an adjustment to my sub-par social skills. Henry, Amelia, and even Avery seemed to be immune to the 'Reid effect', which was both amazing and unprecedented. I hoped that meant that Avery wasn't totally repulsed or annoyed by me.

"If she's getting to be too heavy you can always hand her off to me", she spoke up, breaking my thoughts. I shook my head starting to say that Amelia wasn't at all heavy, but she continued, "Henry is asleep so if you wouldn't mind pushing the stroller, I could take that chubbie bubbie you've so generously been carrying". I laughed at her and stopped to hand her 'chubbie bubbie' over to her. We switched sides with a strange sort of synchronicity, we made a great pair. Did I dare think of us in such terms? Surely she would never pair with me.

"What's so funny?" she asked as she shifted Amelia once more, smiling at me. Ignoring the way that my heart raced at the sight of her smile, I answered,

"Nothing. I've just never heard anyone call their sister a 'chubbie bubbie' before" I grinned at her. It felt good to joke with someone, outside of Morgan. And her laugh at me was one of the sweetest sounds I'd ever heard. I wanted to make her laugh as much as I could, as often as I could just so I could hear that sound.

"Well I'm not your typical sister!" she reasoned. "And also, my baby girl rocks being chubby. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but my little lady is beautiful" she said, turning her shoulders so I could admire Amelia's sleeping face. I had to admit, she was an adorable child. Chubby cheeks that made her look healthy, and rosy as well. Her eyes, though closed, I knew were the same pale blue as her brother and sister. Though she was six months old she still had very little hair, but that seemed to work for her.

"She's beautiful", I agreed. _Like her sister_, I wanted to add. But I didn't want to be too forward. She was Hotch's niece for God's sake. Even if by some stroke of luck she actually felt the same way that I did, she was my boss' niece. Definitely off limits.

"She tries", she said. I laughed once again.

"So, I'm curious. How does Henry know so much about Doctor Who, and why was he so convinced that I was the Doctor?" I asked, genuinely curious. Henry had seemed absolutely certain that I was the Doctor, and while I found that flattering I had also wondered how a four year old would have known that.

She smiled wider, and explained, "I always a special fan of Doctor Who, Henry and I would watch it when we still lived with my mother. After we left, I told him about whatever stories I could remember, the episodes I've watched a thousand times". She paused and smiled as she looked down at Henry fondly. We'd stopped in front of the bus stop, waiting for our bus. "The Christmas Invasion is Henry and my favorite episode. I recite him that episode's plot almost nightly. Once, I even found a way for him to watch the episode a few months ago. The owner of the shelter invested in a TV with a DVD player, and we rented the 2nd series from the library. He was so excited! I'm pretty sure that he mistook you for David Tennant, that's one of the only Doctors he's actually seen on a TV before" she said eyeing me. I felt my face turn pink under her gaze, but I somehow hoped she didn't stop.

"I look nothing like David Tennant", I said finally.

She shrugged, "Maybe it was just your shoes then", gesturing to my converse. "Which I like by the way", she says as she tapped her converse clad foot to mine. She handed Amelia back to me, "I'll push the stroller in the bus if you don't mind. It's sort of tricky. And for the record, I think you happen to look a lot like David Tennant".

"What makes you say that?" I questioned as she effortlessly pushed the huge stroller up the steps and onto the bus. She gave me a look I couldn't quite place as showed the driver her student ID and he gave her a nod, and a smile. I placed a few quarters into the meter-like thing as I too climbed the stairs. Just before she sat down, Avery turned to me and said,

"Would you believe I've always had a thing for David Tennant?"

Hotch's POV:

At least David waited until we got back to the Escalade to begin his line of questioning.

"I didn't know that you ever had another brother", he began.

"Sean and I prefer not to talk about that" I said. Dave just looked at me with a face that demanded explanation. I sighed and began talking, "Jeremy was our older brother. He got married early, had Avery with his wife. They were the perfect family, so much so in fact that they were what caused Haley and I to start out own family later on. Jeremy was amazing with Avery, loving to his wife. Truly the best father and husband out there, he radiated happiness to everyone privileged enough to know him. Then he got cancer when Avery was about 7, maybe 6. He thought he could beat it, we all did. But lung cancer isn't highly curable. And he fought, he fought for 3 years. But it was too much for even Jeremy, and he died, as she said, when she was about 10. After her husband died Avery's mother, Heather, went into a deep stage of denial. She threw away everything that reminded her of Jeremy, clothes, photos, everything. And when Avery said she had 'burned her bridges' she was being generous. She wanted nothing in her life that reminded her of her late husband. Sean and I called, and never got any answers. When we got worried, and stopped by, she berated us at the door. She wouldn't let us anywhere near Avery. She said if we came anywhere near either of them again she'd call the police. We tried sending letters, calling, anything we could to get near Avery, but nothing worked. I thought I would never see her again, until today", I ended softly.

"And how do you feel? Now that you have her back?" Dave questioned quietly.

I parked our vehicle in the parking lot of a local store, and looked over at him. I smiled at him and said, "I honestly feel like I've got my daughter back Dave. Like she's come back home". He patted my shoulder and we both stepped out to go buy the car seats.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Author's Note:

So given all of the fantastic reviews that I got on the third chapter this story was all I could think about today. Thus this chapter was born! It's a really long one, and I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you all love it as much as I do :P

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Criminal Minds, Doctor Who, David Tennant, or Batman!

Avery's POV:

I didn't think it was possible for two people's faces to turn so red, so fast. As soon as I told Spencer that I'd always' had a thing' for David Tennant, my face turned flaming red, as did his. I didn't regret saying it, it was definitely what I'd been thinking ever since I met him, but I did feel embarrassed at the way it came out. I was never so forward with guys! I never honestly even gave them a thought usually; I'd only dated one guy, once, and that was back in high school. I shook my head slightly, partially to try and draw some of the color from my cheeks, partially to shake those particular memories from my head. That was a chapter that was definitely sealed in my life.

"Ah, we should sit, uh, down" Spencer said finally. I gathered by the return of his overuse of the word uh that he was equally as embarrassed as me. His beet-red face sort of gave him away too.

"Yeah we should", I managed. As we sat down next to each other, I couldn't help thinking that I found his still pink face absolutely adorable. I somehow liked that I could cause such a reaction in him, I certainly had never experienced that with any other boy. That was to be expected I supposed, Spencer was unlike anyone I'd ever met before. Lesson learned, Spencer Reid was a secretly shy boy.

I shifted my weight so we were sitting near to each other, but not touching. After his reaction to my last comment I figured any physical contact would probably throw his heart into palpitations. Taking a cue from his adorable habit, I cleared my throat before asking, "So what's your favorite episode of Doctor Who? You know mine and Henry's, I think it's only fair we know yours".

This seemed to have been the right thing to say, as soon as the words left my mouth Spencer's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He began talking animatedly about his favorite episodes and why they were his favorites. His voice was high and clear, devoid of any traces of our earlier embarrassment, and he waved his hands to make gestures at many points in his speech. I smiled and nodded when it was necessary; I found it calming to just listen to his beautiful voice talk about something he was so passionate about. I like talking as much as the next person, but as long as it was Spencer talking I didn't mind playing the listener.

He soon asked me some sort of question, and we fell into an easy rhythm of conversation. In fact, we managed to talk all the way through our bus ride, and all the way into the building where he and Arrow worked. I don't think I've smiled that hard for so long; something about being around Spencer just made me happy.

As we walked into his building, Spencer seemed to get nervous, as if being here at his work was causing him anxiety. I wanted to grab his hand, to calm him down, but I realized how inappropriate that would be. He worked with Arrow for goodness sakes, he was a smart, handsome man. He would never want someone like me to hold his hand.

We stepped into a large room that had a large number of desks in it, each partitioned kind of like a cubicle, but shorter. I surmised by the odd looks that we were receiving that Arrow wasn't here yet. Or maybe they just weren't used to seeing a 19 year old with two kids and all of her belongings. Or maybe it was Spencer carrying Amelia. Either way, I searched excitedly for Arrow's desk. As much as I absolutely loved spending time with Spencer, I really wanted to see Arrow again. It'd been so long, and all I wanted was to talk to him. To have him meet Henry and Amelia officially.

"So which desk is Arrow's?" I asked Spencer, stopping in front of someone's empty desk.

"Actually Hotch doesn't have a desk", Spencer chuckled. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, trying to mask the way my heart began to beat faster at the sound of his chuckle.

"I thought you both worked here?" I questioned.

"We do, but Hotch is our team's leader. That's his office right up there", Spencer pointed up some stairs.

"Wow", I breathed. I was stunned. Possibly by the way that Spencer stood so close to me when he gestured to the office, possibly just because I couldn't believe my Arrow was really in charge. But my stomach definitely erupted into butterflies by the way he leaned into my shoulder. He was so perfect. He handled Amelia like she was his own sister.

"Wow indeed", Spencer agreed, seemingly as awestruck as I was. He looked at me with an emotion I couldn't quite place, and we both just stared like idiots for what seemed like an eternity. I wondered to myself if he could seriously be feeling what I was feeling; did I even know what I was feeling? I finally broke the spell of our intense eye contact when I heard Henry sleepily call my name from the stroller. As I knelt down to answer him I couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilaration. Staring into Spencer Reid's eyes was intoxicating, I even felt lightheaded. I genuinely didn't understand my feelings as of this moment, so I dove right into what I was born to do: being Henry's big sister.

Spencer's POV:

"Wow indeed", I said, feeling breathless. I'd stood so close to Avery when I'd pointed out Hotch's office to her, admittedly on purpose. The way we sat on the bus was pure torture, having to sit so close without touching. My mind was the only thing keeping myself a respectable distance from Avery, but her mere presence made thinking impossible. Even my mind couldn't save me from leaning in closer to her in order to show her where her uncle worked. I needed to get a grip on reality, Hotch was her uncle. My boss. I knew that, but when I heard her sweet voice's declaration of wonder I couldn't help but agree with her sentiment. The only difference being I was in awe of _her_.

She turned and looked at me with a face that I knew I would never forget. It was then that I seriously wondered, could she ever feel the same sort of attraction to me that I felt for her? I almost thought I saw something in her face that mirrored how I was feeling, but as I was contemplating a small voice called for Avery. She paused before turning her attention to Henry. I shook my head slightly, trying to get rid of some of the wonderful haze in my head. I chose instead, to turn my attention to Amelia, who was still asleep. It had always baffled me how babies were able to just sleep, anywhere and anytime. I knew the physiological reason of course, being that babies were essentially programed to sleep for a certain amount of time per day, but watching Amelia's peacefully dozing away in my arms I wondered how it was that babies just knew. How could they place all their trust in people, for their very existence? She seemed so calm, so happy in my arms, how did she know it was okay to feel so safe? Before I could bring my thoughts to a logical conclusion, I heard Avery speak up.

"I'm Avery, and this is Henry", she said warmly to someone. I looked up to see that Morgan and Prentiss had returned from their crime scene, and were speaking to Avery and Henry. Henry was now unbuckled from his stroller, still sitting in its seat drinking from some sort of colorful cup with a top. One look at Morgan and I was certain he hadn't missed the way I'd been looking at Avery; his smirk plainly said 'we'll be talking about this later'.

Thankfully he kept all of those perverted things he was probably thinking of saying, instead saying, "Well it's very nice to meet you Avery, and cool to meet you too Henry" as he leaned down to speak to Henry. He smiled at them both, and tapped on Henry's cup saying, "You know, this is a pretty sweet cup lil man. Thomas is my niece's favorite train. What about you?" Henry immediately straightened up in his seat and began talking excitedly about how Thomas was indeed his favorite train. I noted with satisfaction however, that it was with quite the same excitement as he'd shown when I was talking to him about magic. I'm not sure why that was so important to me, but I liked to think that Henry enjoyed talking to me more than Morgan.

"Yes very nice to meet you both", Prentiss continued. "Avery are you a friend of Spencer's?" I started to explain who Avery was, but she spoke before I even began.

"I'd like to think so", she said, smiling at me. I felt something in my stomach flutter at her words, she considered us friends?

"But I'm also Hotch's niece. That's what you guys call him right Spencer? "she added. I nodded silently, still trying to calm the array of flutters in my stomach.

"Niece?" Morgan said as he rejoined the conversation.

"Avery? Avery I want to color", Henry said from his seat.

"Okay Hen", she said to her brother. "Could we possibly borrow one of your guys' desks? Just for him to have a flat surface? Hen's a pro at coloring inside the lines, nothing will get on your desk I promise", she added as she grabbed a small coloring book and some crayons from one of the strollers many bags.

"He can use mine, seeing as we're standing right in front of it", I said turning to my small half-cubicle.

"Awesome", Avery said flashing me one of her amazing smiles. She placed the coloring things in front of my chair, and grabbed Henry from the stroller. He walked up to the chair and wobbled a little trying to get on. Avery just held the chair a little more securely, but let him climb up himself. Once he was settled she turned back to Morgan, Prentiss, and I; we had been watching with unabashed interest.

"So Hotch is your uncle huh?" Prentiss said curiously. She was probably wondering why we'd never heard of her before.

"How come you haven't come around the BAU before now?" Morgan asked. Yep, they were curious. I didn't blame them, Avery was a very interesting person. Not only had we never met her before, but she was a girl and I was very clearly the one she trusted most as of right now. That in and of itself was curious, even to me.

"Yes, he's my uncle. I haven't come around before because we'd lost touch before today. We stumbled across each other today at the shelter that we'd been living in, which is why I'm here now. He's meeting us here soon", Avery explained. I admired the way she didn't flinch as she explained her living situation. She certainly wasn't ashamed to have been living where she had.

"Hotch stopped to pick up Henry and Amelia's car seats", I explained, trying to shift some of the attention from Avery. It couldn't be easy having to explain your life story to people you barely knew, much less twice in one day. "Avery and I took the bus here to wait for him". Avery crinkled her nose and giggled. It was my new favorite face of hers I decided, outside of the awestruck wonderment she'd shown before.

"I love the way you all call him Hotch", she said. "I would have never thought to call him that", she said.

"Well what do you call him then?" Morgan said smiling.

"That's top secret I'm afraid agents", she deadpanned. "I just got him back and I'm not risking losing him over a childish nickname", she said with mock seriousness.

"Oh my god you really are his niece" Prentiss exclaimed giggling as well. "The seriousness, and the face you just made? Totally a Hotch face".

"Now Prentiss I wouldn't go that far", Morgan said. "This is a very pretty girl Hotch and Reid have got themselves here. You can't compare her face to Hotch's", he laughed too, possibly at my face, which I had felt heat up at the way he'd referred to Avery as my girl. Little did he know how badly I wanted that to be true. It was nice to hear them both laugh though, we didn't get much of that with this job. After agreeing, both Morgan and Prentiss returns to their desks, presumably to talk about the recent developments of the day. I groaned internally, imagining the interrogation I would receive as soon as Avery left.

"Avery? Avery I have… I have… I have to go potty", Henry said getting quieter with each passing word. Avery turned to me apologetically.

"I'm sorry Spencer, you've been holding Amelia for a long time. Your arms must be dying, but could you watch her for just another second while I take him to the bathroom?" she said hopefully.

"Oh no she's perfectly fine", I reassured her. It was the truth, I actually loved holding Amelia; it was the longest amount of time I'd ever spent with one child. "I'll watch her while you take Henry to the restroom Avery. Really it's no problem". She smiled in thanks and asked where the restroom was. I pointed her in the right direction, before taking a seat in my chair. I glanced down at what Henry had been coloring. Avery was right, the kid was a pro at keeping his colors in the lines, way more than most kids his age. I felt Amelia stir in my arms, she was probably beginning to wake up; she'd been asleep for a solid hour, most likely longer. I felt a surge of panic go through me, what if she woke up and started crying? What if Avery came back to a crying Amelia? What if she thought that I wasn't fit to watch her sister? Somehow I couldn't let that happen; I didn't want Avery to ever doubt me. Ever. As if she could sense my thoughts, Amelia began to cry. Well really it was more of a snort than a cry. Whatever it was it was heartbreaking and I wanted to make it stop; not only because of Avery, but also because it made me sad to hear such a sweet baby cry. I stood up and began to shift my weight from foot to foot and bounce, mothers often did that right? Failing that, I also began to pat her back like I'd seen JJ do with Henry. This seemed to help, but she still sort of whimpered and squawked so I did what I did best. I started talking.

"Heyyy. Shhh shhh it's okay Amelia. Avery will be back soon, I know you probably miss her. And I haven't even introduced myself yet to you, how silly of me. I'm Spencer, but you can call me Spence", I said quietly. Strangely enough, this seemed to work. Amelia began to drool all over her tiny balled up fist that she'd placed in her mouth. She seemed content enough. I smiled, happy that I had placated her and had been able to figure out what made her content. I continued to speak to her quietly, not even really hearing what I was saying. Just talking.

"Okay call me crazy, but I see a certain Spencer Reid holding a baby. Am I crazy?" I heard Garcia babble from behind me. I smiled, and turned around to see her and JJ standing near my cubicle. Garcia had one had on her heart, as if she was having some sort of heart attack and one hand on JJ for support. JJ just looked amused and also suspicious. I rolled my eyes as I contemplated what to say.

"Oh hush. It's not like you've never seen me hold a child before", I said looking pointedly at JJ.

"You've only held Henry, your godson, a few times Reid and never as easily as now. Seriously. Did you think you could just have a child and not tell us?" JJ replied with an incredulous look.

"Come on guys give me a little credit. I would at least tell you by the time my child was at least a few months old", I joked. They glared at me, with an exasperated sort of look.

"Seriously Reid. Whose baby is that? If you say yours I reserve my right to kick you in such a way that you will never be able to create such an adorable baby again", Garcia threatened.

"She's my baby", I heard a sweet familiar voice say behind me.

Avery's POV:

I was walking Henry back from the bathroom when I heard unfamiliar voices near Spencer's cubicle.

"Okay call me crazy, but I see a certain Spencer Reid holding a baby. Am I crazy?" I heard a blonde woman say. She was dressed in a flashy looking outfit, but I liked it somehow. It was certainly colorful, and I really liked her glasses. I'd always wanted a pair of cat eye glasses like that, but unfortunately my prescription was so high there was no way my lens would ever fit into such trendy frames. Thus why I chose to never wear my glasses and opted for contacts; the phrase coke-bottle didn't begin to describe my glasses.

"Oh hush. It's not like you've never seen me hold a child before", Spencer said good naturedly. I loved how protectively he held Amelia, who was now awake. I smiled at the realization that she'd woken up and he'd been able to comfort her. She looked extremely happy and safe in his arms. In this moment I envied her, safe and secure in Spencer's lanky arms.

"You've only held Henry, your godson, a few times Reid and never as easily as now. Seriously. Did you think you could just have a child and not tell us?" replied the other blonde woman. She was beautiful, everything that I'd ever wanted to look like. Her hair was the same color as mine, but it was silky and smooth unlike my nappy, wavy mess. What's worse is that she was thin and fit looking, while I was curvy and not at all thin. It was a sore spot with me, to say the least.

"Come on guys give me a little credit. I would at least tell you by the time my child was at least a few months old", Spencer said jokingly. I loved this side of Spencer. Lighthearted and kind, like he was with Henry. It was beyond adorable.

"Seriously Reid. Whose baby is that? If you say yours I reserve my right to kick you in such a way that you will never be able to create such an adorable baby again", the flashy dresser warned. I giggled, I knew I liked that girl. She was sassy, like all good women. I decided to step forward, lest Reid be hurt by a woman that was a good 6 inches shorter than him.

"She's my baby", I said stepping forward. "Hi, I'm Avery, Arr…uhm Hotch's niece", I said setting Henry down. I almost slipped up and called him Arrow; this was a confusing enough day for these people I'm sure, I wasn't going to further confuse them with my silly nickname. "Actually she's my sister Amelia, and this is my brother Henry". Though there was nothing shameful about having kids at my age, I was tired of people assuming that Henry and Amelia were mine. Better to just set the record straight from the gate.

"That's a lovely picture. You know my son's name is Henry too", the smaller woman said to Henry.

"Really?" Henry asked confused. "But that's my name". I giggled, as well as Reid.

"I know, and it's his name as well", the woman explained kindly. "What are you drawing?"

"I'm done", he stated proudly. "It's a picture of Batman. For Spencer", he continued in his sweet little voice. He handed his finished picture to Spencer, who took it very carefully. His face betrayed a surprising array of his emotions, but ultimately he just looked so grateful for that little piece of paper from my boy.

"Thank you Henry. I love it. I'm going to hang it right here, okay?" he said finally. He did indeed hang the picture near his computer. I thought Henry's grin was going to split in two. He eagerly began drawing furiously once more; Reid had better be careful, soon his entire desk would be consumed with comic book heroes. Somehow I felt he wouldn't mind.

"Oh totally forgot, I'm Penelope. Garcia. And this is JJ", the sassy woman (whom I know knew to be called Garcia) said gesturing to herself and the other woman. "I hope you don't get offended by this but can I please hold your baby, Amelia was it? She's just such a sweet little girl. Can I hold her? Please?" she squealed. She looked at my face for approval, which I gave. She took Amelia from Reid's arms. Amelia seemed slightly unhappy about the change, as if she had been taken from my own arms. I beamed with pride at Spencer, I knew there was something special about him. Mere hours from meeting this extraordinary man and my baby girl was as comfortable around him as she could be. Not that she'd ever been a fussy one, but I guess that she sensed what I sensed in Spencer, that indescribably good feeling that I got whenever I was around him. That thought alone was enough to convince me that not only did I have a thing for Spencer Reid, but I had it bad.

Author's note: I hope you liked that I threw in some of the other BAU characters this time around. I did my best to capture their personalities as best I can. Next chapter should have some serious Avery/ Hotch time and also some development with Avery and Spence (with a little help from Garcia ;P ). Read and Review!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Hello all! So tonight there's a two for one! Two chapters now, and maybe another later tonight, depending on how fast I can get my homework done! :) Read and review!

Chapter 5

Spencer's POV:

I began to smile, as I turned to see Avery grinning at me. I couldn't help it, her happiness was my happiness. I couldn't look at her beautiful smiling face and not smile. I remembered where we were, after what felt like an eternity (but was probably only mere seconds). Both Garcia and JJ were sure to have caught our moment. I turned to see, with a still admittedly large smile (I enjoyed the way I thought of what just happened as OUR moment) that they indeed hadn't missed it. They were staring at Avery and me; Garcia with a huge smile of her own, and JJ with a knowing smirk. Both were professional enough to pretend they hadn't been watching though, thank god. Garcia returned to babbling to Amelia about what a beautiful baby girl she was, and JJ cleared her throat before asking Avery some sort of friendly question about Henry. I was happy to hear however that, for once they weren't questions about her past. Avery had patiently explained her entire situation to anyone who had asked, all day. Tough woman or not, no one should have to explain their lives that frequently to people they barely knew. I felt oddly protective of Avery, though at this point I guess it really wasn't that surprising. I'd felt nothing but unlikely emotions ever since meeting Avery.

"Oh that's right! I remember seeing you there now. That's why you seemed so familiar to me", I heard JJ say excitedly.

"What?" I questioned. I missed the entire exchange between JJ and Avery with all my thinking. It happened to me quite a bit, and I guessed that with Avery around it would happen even more frequently. I could daydream about the girl for the rest of my life, I was sure of it.

"Avery works at the Early Learning place that Henry's starting at on Monday", JJ explained. "That's why I thought I knew her, I'd passed her classroom on my way to Henry's".

"Yeah, I'll actually be Henry's teacher sometimes", Avery said with realization. "Every day I work from 11-2 in the Green Room. I remember seeing his name on my new roster! "she finished excitedly. I smiled at her obvious excitement. It made total sense that Avery was a preschool teacher, it didn't take a profiler to guess that. Just observing the way she handled both her siblings with complete confidence and love was enough to understand her devotion to kids.

"Really? You're one of his teachers?" JJ asked with equal parts confusion and excitement. "I thought Ms. Jane was the teacher in that room?"

"Oh she is! Part of my daily shift is in his room, I just am not actually his teacher, just an assistant teacher. I've never been to college or anything, but I'm certified to be watching the kids and I've been working with them for a long time", Avery explained, with a certain emotion I couldn't quite place, but her whole demeanor seemed to change slightly. I don't think the other two woman even noticed the change in Avery, but I had.

"Well I'm glad that Henry will be with someone I know", JJ said genuinely. I was happy too, I knew JJ worried about Henry a lot. Maybe having Avery as his teacher would help ease her anxiety.

"I'm excited to meet Henry", Avery replied warmly. "Hopefully the transition will be fairly easy. I'll only be in his room for his lunch and nap time though. The last half of my shift is spent in the Purple Room", she explained.

"I'm totally confused", Garcia interjected. "Is there some sort of mommy color code for rooms that I'm missing?" I laughed. I'd been wondering the same thing, but once again Garcia managed to say exactly what I was thinking in a much more forward way. JJ giggled too, and replied,

"The classrooms are divided by the children's ages; each room is called by a color to indicate what age belongs in there".

"Yeah and the classrooms go in rainbow order by age", Avery supplemented. "Purple Room is for our youngest infants, the 'nonmobile' babies", she said with air quotes around nonmobile. "Basically nonmobile just means any baby from like 6 weeks until they start walking. The colors go up all the way to our Red Room, which has our 4 and 5 year olds that are heading into Kindergarten", she finished.

"So are you going to school to be a Pre-k teacher then?" Garcia asked.

"Uhm no actually", Avery said nervously. I noted the same sort of emotional distress I'd sensed earlier in the conversation. I had no real basis for my conclusion, I just _felt _her sudden discomfort. Totally irrational, yet I was certain. But what had caused her shift in mood? Whatever it was, I felt the urge to wrap my arms around her. To hold her, and protect her.

"I don't go to school right now", Avery continued.

"Oh", Garcia said. Even she could sense that she'd struck some sort of nerve. But Avery, being the strong and wonderful girl I knew she was, decided to explain herself. Even though she certainly didn't have to.

"My mom left me alone with Henry when he was 2, almost 3. Later she managed to somehow find me again, and she was pregnant with Amelia. Eventually she left again, and I had to move us to the shelter that Spencer and Arr...Hotch found us in. We were only living there for a few weeks, just until I saved enough for a few month's rent. But in all that time I never really had time to begin school like most girls my age", she explained. It sounded strong I'm sure to Garcia and JJ (who had been listening with rapt attention the whole time), but I knew better. I heard the slight tremors in her voice, and for the first time I sensed sadness coming from Avery. Like she was ashamed to have never started college. My whole being burned with the desire, once again, to pull her into my arms. I wanted to comfort her and let her know that it was alright. She had every right and reason in the world to have delayed going to college. And even if she never went, she was special and wonderful just how she was. Avery didn't need a degree, she was perfect.

"Your age?" JJ questioned softly. "How old are you? "

"I'm 19 now, but I'll be 20 on Thursday", Avery said. JJ was using the face she usually reserved for the families of some of our victims; sadness and compassion, as close to pity as possible. I hated that she was making it in the context of this conversation. Avery wasn't a victim. Garcia, predictably, was less subtle about her feelings.

"You're only 19 and you take care of two children, alone?" she cried. "Oh my sweet, dear love. You're a superhero". Avery just gave her a small smile.

"No. I'm just a big sister", she replied. Though it sounded cliché, I could tell that she really meant it. Avery truly couldn't love her siblings more. Garcia smiled at Avery, and bounced Amelia on her hip, saying,

"Your beautiful sister claims not to be superwoman, but we know better don't we?"

I smiled. It seemed as though Garcia and JJ really liked Avery. Not as much as me, but it was clear that she had (effortlessly) won them over. At Henry's request, Avery bent over to take a look at something he'd colored. While her back was turned Garcia began pointing to her and giving me a thumbs up. Following her lead, JJ made one of those ridiculous heart shapes with her hands and nodding. I pursed my lips and shook my head at them furiously trying to get them to stop. What if Avery saw? I wasn't an expert on relationships, but I was reasonably confident that their display was what people referred to as a turnoff. Thankfully, as she straightened up they stopped their ridiculous waving, but still grinned at me like imbeciles. I looked wide eyed at Avery, hoping she didn't notice. Avery smiled a curious kind of smile, raising an eyebrow; silently asking what had happened. Garcia merely waved a hand at her shaking her head. Avery seemed to understand, she shrugged her shoulders and seemed content.

"Do you think I could have that little chunky butt back? She's got to be needing a new diaper by now, and since Aaron's nowhere to be found right now I'm gonna feed her her bottle as well", Avery said as she reached her hands out to Garcia. Garcia willingly obliged, probably due to the fact that Amelia had been making unhappy noises progressively more throughout our conversation. I chuckled lightly. Avery eyed me as she grabbed what I assumed was some sort of diaper bag from the front of the stroller.

"Care to share with the class Spence?" she said humorously as she moved to walk past me.

"Chunky butt? Chubbie bubbie? Why do we even bother calling her Amelia when those beautiful names are so readily available?" I teased

"Oh hush your face", she replied lightheartedly as she knocked my shoulder with her own. Ignoring the flames that simple action brought to my body, I smiled and called after her now retreating form,

"Hush my face? How can a face be hushed?"

"Make it happen", she tossed over her shoulder as I lost sight of her down the hallway. I laughed to myself, and turned back to my cubicle. I saw not only JJ and Garcia, but also Morgan and Prentiss giving me the _look_. I'm pretty sure if you looked up the definition of ambush, a picture of this scene would suffice.

I cleared my throat, and turned to Henry. I laughed out loud at the sight in front of me. In the time it took for the conversation between Avery, JJ, Garcia, and I Henry had positively plastered my cube in his pictures. There had to be at least 5 different superhero coloring pages taped to the wall that weren't there before. Henry looked up at me innocently and smiled.

"Do you like them? I made them for you", he said proudly. My heart swelled, he was the sweetest boy I'd ever met.

"I love them. Spiderman has always been my favorite, what about you?" I asked kindly as I knelt down to speak with him. His eyes got wide as he began talking about how Batman was 'the coolest', and so on. I nodded along and listened, partially because I was genuinely interested in what Henry had to say, and partially because I could feel the team's eyes on me. I thought if I stalled long enough that they would have to wait until after Avery, Henry, and Amelia left.

"Hey, pretty boy. Care to quit stalling and come up and talk to me?" I heard Morgan say behind me. I could feel his smirk from my place next to Henry. Closing my eyes in defeat I handed Henry his crayons and asked for another picture of Batman, to which he happily obliged. I slowly stood up to face my teammates, hands in my pockets.

"What's up?" I asked, in what I hoped was an indifferent tone. Their faces plainly told me that it was a futile attempt.

"Don't play games kid. I wanna know right now, what's going on with you and that girl? You've been staring at her so much, I'm surprised you haven't burned a hole right through her head", Morgan said still with his ever present smirk.

"Ahem… well I mean Hotch had me take her, Henry, and Amelia here on the bus because they don't have car seats" I started to say.

"Uh uh. No way, I'm not interested in your cover story. You know what he was asking. So spill", Garcia interrupted. I exhaled a long breath.

"I don't know guys, okay?" I admitted quietly. "I don't' understand my own feelings, but I know that there's no possible chance that she could ever reciprocate them. So I'd appreciate it if we could just drop it". Their faces changed considerably, and JJ stepped forward, placing a hand on my arm.

"Spence you don't know that. I'm not sure if you missed it, but there's a burning hole in your forehead too", she said softly.

It was inconceivable to me. I mean I thought that she'd glanced at me a few times, but I really never expected… JJ had to be wrong. But what if she wasn't?

"It doesn't matter. Even if that's true, which I doubt, she's Hotch's niece guys. His _niece_", I replied shaking my head. None of them seemingly had an answer to this, and if they did they'd have time to make something up because Avery was heading back. She took one look at my desk and chuckled.

"I'm sorry I should have warned you this was going to happen", she said laughing. She placed Amelia's diaper bag back in the stroller and stood next to me watching Henry, who was still scribbling away on yet another sheet of paper. "I swear that boy could singlehanded color over the entire ceiling of the Sistine Chapel given the opportunity". She stood extremely close to me, her arm touching mine. It was like someone had stuck my arm in an electric socket. I couldn't believe she was so close. She turned her head to look at me, she smiled and apologized again. I barely heard what she'd said; between our physical contact and the fact that I was once again lost in the paleness of her eyes my hearing was a little off. I nodded and reassured her that I didn't mind at all. This seemed to widen her smile even more, and I considered JJ's words. Could she be right? Did Avery actually feel the same way I did?

Avery's POV:

As I walked back to see JJ's perfect hand on Spencer's arm I felt a flash of jealousy go through me, however irrational. I didn't want anybody else's hands on him, other than mine. I walked over to him, but got sidetracked looking at his desk. Henry had indeed plastered it with different pages from his coloring book. I stood as closely to Spencer as I could, without being completely obvious. Where our arms touched I felt electricity spark my skin; I already knew I had it bad for Spencer, but this was my opportunity to see how he felt about things. When I apologized for Henry's art overload I carefully turned my head, smiled, and watched carefully for his reaction. He seemed breathless, and (for lack of a better word) mesmerized. It was a feeling I understood well, and one I reciprocated. One thing was certain, Spencer Reid's eyes were amazing. Brown and green mixing in perfectly equal amounts, big and deep and beautiful. I was lost, and I forgot what I was supposed to be doing. I was brought back to reality when he mumbled that he 'really didn't mind' all the pictures. I felt my grin widen so large, I thought my face might split in two. I knew he wouldn't mind the pictures. I was starting to really believe that he could maybe have feelings for me, not as strong as my feelings of course, but I thought I saw something in the way he looked at me just now. I returned my attention to Amelia's bottle, which I had been feeding her this whole time. I didn't step away from Spencer; even though I felt those electrical charges between us, I didn't want them to stop.

Noting that his entire team was standing behind us, I did turn around to face them; Spencer followed my lead. I smiled at them. I really wanted them to like me, if anything was going to happen between Spencer and me (and I was praying it would) I was going to need the support of his team. They seemed to be really close, and I didn't want to disrupt that by any means.

"Here little mama, thought you might wanna sit while you feed that sweet girl of yours", Morgan said as he rolled a chair towards me, smiling. I beamed and thanked him. He waved, as if to indicate that it was nothing and pulled Reid off to speak to him about something. The women of the team began familiarly chatting with me as I sat and continued to feed Amelia. I thought my face was going to fall off, I don't remember the last time I smiled for so long at once. I wasn't worried about having to win over his team anymore; they all seemed like they were wonderful people, and I think they were starting to like me. The only person on his team that could pose a problem was Arrow. How would he feel about me dating at all, much less dating one of his agents? We just reconnected, I had no way of possibly knowing how he would feel.

"Avery". I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. I swiveled Morgan's chair away from the ladies to see Arrow smiling at me. I grinned back and said,

"Hello Arrow. What took you so long?"


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Here's tonight's second chapter! Let me know what you think!

Chapter 6

Avery's POV:

"_Arrow?_" I heard a voice say from behind me. I'm not sure which of the ladies it was, but I knew it wasn't Garcia. Her voice was very…distinctive. I looked over my shoulder to see Prentiss and JJ on the verge of smiles, lips bit to keep from doing so. Garcia however was blatantly grinning, clearly enjoying Arrow's nickname. I turned my head back to see that he was less than impressed with the women of his team, and I gave him a sheepish look.

"I'm gonna throw it out there that I managed to call you Hotch the entire time you were gone. So I should at least get brownie points for that", I told him. He chuckled.

"Well I wasn't really expecting you to call me anything else, nor would I want you to", he replied, with a hint of smile. My heart lifted, Arrow wasn't mad at me. "However I would like it to be very clear that she is the ONLY one who has authorization to call me that", he said pointedly to the group behind me. Tired of having to turn my head, I positioned my chair so I could see both groups at once. Amelia was almost finished with her bottle anyways, I could stand soon. The women looked like they had regained their composures somewhat, and they each answered with a 'yes sir' or 'sorry Hotch'. I raised an eyebrow. Sir? I watched as Spencer and Morgan regained their team. Spencer's face looked slightly pink, and I wondered what they'd been talking about. My speculations were interrupted by Arrow, when he said,

"I got their car seats, and I also got Amelia one of those pack and play things for now until we can get her a crib", Arrow said. "We can go as soon as she's done?"

"Oh yeah good thinking", I said thankfully. Although there was no way I was letting Arrow buy Amelia a crib. I was her guardian, I would get the crib. Even if I had to work 12 hour days every day, I would. I didn't want anyone's charity.

"Wait she doesn't have a crib?" Garcia questioned.

"Not one of her own. The room we had at the shelter had one, but it wasn't ours to keep", I explained. They all looked at me with blank stares, so I continued on. "Our room was technically ours, but it only locked from the inside. So anything that we have we carry with us in that stroller. If we would've left anything in our room it would have been stolen". I began to burp Amelia, who was now finished with her bottle, and waited for their reaction. This was the part I hated most about my situation, the stupid pity. Thankfully, most of the team just nodded, as if that made sense. I was elated to note that they didn't look as if they thought my situation was so unfortunate. I was really starting to like this team.

Garcia's POV:

As Avery explained that her entire life was in that stroller, literally, I thought I might start crying. I was falling deeply in love with her, her siblings, and the romance between her and Reid that I was already picturing. Seriously, those two were perfect for each other in a fantastical, I wanna write a book about it kind of way. To think that everything she had for herself and her babies was limited to just one half of a double stroller was heartbreaking. I didn't want to pity her, she certainly didn't pity herself. I mean the girl was the poster child for taking life with a spoonful of sugar. I couldn't help myself, I heard myself say,

"Brain blast lovelies! We should have a birthday party/ baby shower for Miss Avery next weekend". It all sort of came out very fast, as things tended to when I was excited, and boy was I excited. This was a great idea! Avery's birthday was this week she said, and she clearly needed some things for Amelia and Henry that she wasn't willing to ask for. Avery looked less than thrilled.

"That's very kind of you Garcia, but that really isn't necessary. I don't really celebrate my own birthday, and I can get Amelia everything she needs. She's six months old anyways, that's pretty late for a baby shower", Avery said politely. God I loved this girl. I wasn't letting her off the hook that easily though. This was possibly my greatest idea ever, so I wasn't about to let her sense of pride get in the way.

"Oh sweetie, it's going to happen. I haven't planned a baby shower in years, and it's going to be fabulous. We won't go crazy with the presents, I swear. This is just going to be a fun way for you and your siblings to meet our team! Promise", I said putting up a hand like I was being sworn in. Avery still didn't look convinced. "I'll plan everything and I'll text you!" I said as I began to walk way, lest she protest some more. I heard her begin to say something, but I simply threw a "Goodbye loves!" over my shoulders and speed walked back to my office. I was planning this, whether Avery wanted to or not. She was, at least in my mind, a part of our family now. This is what families did for each other.

As I sat in my office I started to think about Reid. He had it bad for Avery, of that much I was certain. The question was, how was I going to get them alone together? And alone without Avery's siblings too, that was going to be tough. Reid seemed to think that Hotch wasn't going to allow anything to happen between them, but I was confident that he could learn to deal with it. Probably. First things first, I needed to find a way to force them to admit that they were in love with each other. Hmm…

Spencer's POV:

After Morgan had thoroughly grilled me about everything that had happened with Avery since the moment I met her, I'm sure my face was redder than a tomato. I managed to placate him somehow, by promising to keep an open mind about Hotch. Morgan seemed to think if I slowly eased into things with Avery that Hotch could learn to accept things. I still wasn't convinced. Even if Avery was attracted to me, which still seemed impossible to me, I'm sure she wouldn't stay that way for too long. I just needed to sit and be alone with my thoughts, they were starting to swirl around and hurt my head. I was so consumed in my thoughts that I barely noticed that we'd walked back to where our team was standing, still talking to Avery. The familiar butterflies I felt in my stomach at the sight of Avery were silenced by the sight of Hotch standing so near to her. I know I'd discussed him with Morgan just minutes before, but suddenly seeing him made everything we'd talk about seem so real. Hotch wasn't a hypothetical situation, he was really here, and he was really imposing. I pictured him berating me for even considering going near Avery. I shuddered. Somewhere in the midst of all those thoughts, I heard Garcia speak excitedly and leave our group. I looked up to see Avery look sort of exasperated, and wondered what Garcia had said.

"Well Avery are you ready to go?" Hotch asked. It seemed that Amelia had finished her bottle, and Avery was indeed ready to go. She nodded and put her sister back in her stroller. Amelia began to fuss, so Avery dug a rattle of sorts out of one of the bags and handed it to her. She told Henry to pick up his things, and then she turned back to the rest of the group.

"I'm really glad to have met you", she said looking directly at me. I felt my entire stomach do some sort of flip. Anatomically impossible of course, but I swear if anyone could defy the laws of science it was Avery. "To have met all of you", she amended, breaking eye contact with me and looking at everyone with a smile. She began to give everyone a hug, right down the team's line, until she got to me. She smiled as she reached out her arms for a hug and leaned in. I thought my heart was going to explode until she actually pulled me into her arms. At that point I'm pretty sure my heart stopped, and I didn't mind in the slightest. I hugged her back tightly, thinking that no words could describe how utterly _right_ this seemed. We stood there holding each other for what felt like forever, for what I wished could really be forever, before we broke apart. Judging by the way the team was grinning, and the suspicious look on Hotch's face I guessed that we had been hugging for a much longer time than anyone else. My face reddened, and I said goodbye. She gave me one last smile, grabbed Henry's hand and pushed her stroller away. I wondered sadly when I would see her again. I sincerely hoped Garcia got her way and we had a party for Avery. I needed an excuse to see her again, and that was a perfect excuse. I already missed her; her voice, her hair, her beautiful eyes, and the way she held me close…

I really hoped Garcia got her way.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I think I made it worth it! This is a longerish chapter, and it has a lot of Aaron/Avery family time in it. I hope you all like it, read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside of Avery, Henry, and Amelia!

Chapter 7

Avery's POV:

I couldn't help feeling sad as we walked away from Arrow's office and into the parking lot. I didn't know when I could expect to see Spencer again, but I hoped for my sake that it was soon. True, I'd only known him for mere hours, but I could already tell that I would miss him before long. I smiled as I thought of his handsome features, smiling down at Henry or Amelia (or smiling at me if I were especially lucky). Goodness, here I was acting like a love-struck girl. It'd never been my personality to be so_ girly_. I was always too busy for boys, and besides that none had ever really shown an interest in me before. But Spencer was different, wonderfully different. I thought of his beautiful hazel eyes, of the way that he held me close when I'd hugged him goodbye…

"We have to make one stop first before we go home", Arrow said, breaking my thoughts. I smiled at him.

"I like the sound of that. Home", I replied. He smiled at me and gestured with his arms to indicate that we had arrived at his car. I stopped, unsure of how to proceed. Henry looked up at me saying,

"Is that our car Avery?" I began to say that no, this wasn't our car, that it was uncle Arrow's and we were just going to go for a ride, but Arrow beat me.

"Yes Henry. This is my car and because you and your sisters are my family, that makes it your car as well", Arrow said kindly. I felt my smile grow, Arrow really loved Henry and Amelia already. "In fact, I believe there's a surprise waiting for you inside my car, should we look?" Arrow continued. Henry nodded, wide eyed. I had to giggle. He was so excited, and seemed to have turned his complete attention to attempting to peek through the car's windows (even though they were quite a bit taller than him). Arrow smiled and opened up the door. Inside were two car seats, each with what looked like a birthday gift bag on them. I frowned at the gift bags, and looked at Arrow questioningly. I didn't like gifts, people tend to give them because they felt bad for my small family. We didn't need anyone's pity or charity, I took care of us just fine.

"Arrow what's this?" I said, just as Henry exclaimed, "PRESENTS!" He eagerly reached up to Arrow to lift him into the car. Arrow happily obliged, placing him into the car seat and buckling him in before handing him the bag. As Henry eagerly ripped open his presents in the backseat I crossed my arms and looked at him. He looked sort of exasperated as he threw his hands up in surrender.

"Don't blame me, the gifts aren't from me. Just the seats", he said as he picked Amelia up and brought her to the other side of the car to buckle her in, handing her some new toys as well. I scrunched my features in confusion. If Arrow claimed not to have gotten them, then who was I supposed to believe bought them? Arrow just smiled as me as he pushed the stroller away to the trunk. I walked around to the passenger's seat, still thinking of who...passenger's seat.

"Dave", I said out loud. Arrow just smiled as he got into the car. Dave had bought the toys for Amelia and Henry. But why, I pondered as I buckled my seatbelt.

"Rossi never had children or grandchildren to spoil. I think he likes that he could finally use his money to buy something for children", Arrow said, as if reading my thoughts. I sadly smiled back. I couldn't imagine a life without children in it. For once I didn't mind that someone had bought my babies something; it wasn't out of pity, it was out of genuine love.

"You'll have to let me tell him thank you sometime. Or better yet, I could help Henry draw him a card and you could give it to him", I said thankfully.

"I think he would really like that", Arrow said as we pulled out of the parking lot. He smiled at me before returning his eyes to the road. I'd never been to this part of Quantico before, and I was soon lost as to where we were.

"So what's this stop we're making?" I asked after a few minutes. Arrow looked at me with a strange face before returning to the road.

"We're going to pick up Jack", he said quietly. I sensed that he didn't want to talk about things.

"Who's Jack?" I questioned carefully. He hesitated.

"I'll explain who Jack is, but I think it's best if we leave discussions of anything serious until after the kids are asleep. Agreed?" he said finally. I nodded my head and mumbled that I thought that was best too. Henry had heard our story retold enough times, and worse yet he'd lived it. Needless to say I wasn't all too eager to get that discussion over with. "Jack is my son. He's staying with his aunt".

I sat and let that sink in. Arrow had a son. I had a cousin. I felt my face break out in a smile.

"How old?" I asked, still smiling.

"He just turned 5 a few months ago", he answered, trying to hide his smile. My grin widened, he was about Henry's age.

As we pulled up to Jack's aunt's house Arrow stepped out to get him, and I turned to check on my kids. Henry was happily playing with the new Batman figurine Dave had gotten him, and Amelia was contentedly chewing on her new toys as well. In my lapse of attention while I was trying to figure out who had gotten the gift I'd completely missed the fact that there was another car seat next to Henry's. I guess I should've known Arrow would have a child by now; I mean it'd been 10 years since I'd seen him last. It wasn't like time would've stopped just because I wasn't in his life.

I saw Arrow approach with a small boy in his arms. The boy looked excited, and Arrow looked happy. I smiled too, he was a cutie. I sincerely hoped that he and Henry got along, but I wasn't very worried. Henry easily made friends at Rising Stars (the daycare that I worked at was also where Henry and Amelia went to preschool). Even so I felt a twinge of nervousness in my tummy. What if Jack didn't get along with Henry? What if he didn't want to share his house? What if he wasn't used to babies, and didn't want to have us stay with him? Arrow said we were family, but surely his son's needs came first? My nervousness heightened as Arrow buckled Jack into his seat. Jack beamed at me.

"You're my cousin!" he said excitedly. "And so's him! So's her!" he continued turning to both Henry and Amelia respectively. "I've never had cousins afore!" I smiled at him, my nervousness dissipating.

"Know something Jack? Neither have I. I'm Avery it's nice to meet you", I said waving at him from up front.

"Nice to meet you", he said giggling and clapping. "What's his name?" he continued pointing to Henry.

"That's Henry", I said. "And the little baby's name is Amelia. Can you say hello?"

"Hello Henry! Hello Amelia!" Jack said waving like I had. "Henry what's are you playing with? Is that Batman? ".

"Yeah! This is my new toy!" Henry explained excitedly. "He's Batman and we're watching for crime". "Cool! I love Batman! Can Spiderman help?" Jack asked, pulling a Spiderman figure out of his backpack.

"Yeah!" Henry exclaimed. The two were soon playing and talking animatedly about their superheroes. I watched them happily, relieved to see that they would get along well. I repeated my thoughts to Arrow who gave me a knowing smile.

"Of course they get along, I knew they would", he said. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure what profilers actually did, but I was starting to think that being a know-it-all was a big part of it. As we finally pulled up to Arrow's house I felt excitement bubble up in my stomach once more. Henry and Amelia finally had a home again, I finally had a home again. Arrow seemed to share my excitement, but before I could open my door to get out, he placed a hand over mine to stop me.

"Dave got you something too. It's on Amelia's side of the car on the floor", he said. "He also said to tell you that any protests would be extremely ineffective. It's been bought and it isn't going back", he barreled on, effectively silencing the protests that had bubbled to my lips. I frowned, being a know-it-all was definitely a profiler thing. He smiled at me before getting out to grab the kids. I sighed, and got out to grab the stroller. As I got it out, Arrow unbuckled the boys and brought them inside the small home.

I rolled the stroller over to Amelia's door, unbuckled her, and placed her in the stroller. I smiled and babbled to her as I did this. Not one bit of it was in anyway important, but I liked to talk to babies. Not only did it help their speech development, but they gave the cutest smiles when I did. She smiled and babbled with me, before rubbing her eyes. It was getting late for her, I could probably feed her supper and put her to bed. Just as I was about to shut the door, I noticed a small box with my name on it on the floor. Assuming this was my present, I picked it up and placed it in my stroller before wheeling it towards the door. I'd open it later, for now I just wanted to feed Amelia and put her to sleep before settling in.

As I walked I heard the boys' animated voices from up the set of stairs that were directly in front of the door. To the left of the door was a small family room, and to the right was a dining room. I surmised that the kitchen was behind the stairs, and the bedrooms upstairs. I placed the stroller off to the side, took Amelia out, and started up the stairs. I followed the boy's voices to a small room to the left of the stairs. Walking in, I smiled at the sight in front of me; Henry and Jack had taken out some toys and were playing with them excitedly. I guessed then, that this was Jack's room. I looked around, but didn't see Arrow anywhere. Jack's walls were plain, like the rest of the house from what I'd seen. The paint was the ordinary tan color that people tended to paint their homes before they customized rooms with color. Either Jack and Arrow hadn't stayed here long, or they didn't plan to stay long.

As I wondered which one was more likely, Arrow walked into the room. He'd changed from his suit and tie into a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt. He smiled as well, and motioned that I should follow him into the hall.

"Since they're so occupied, would you like a tour of your new home?" he asked. I smiled and nodded.

"Can I fix Amelia's bottle first? I can feed her as we walk", I promised. Arrow nodded and headed downstairs with me. I was going to be very happy here, I could already tell.

After the tour, I'd put Amelia to bed in my new room and started helping Arrow with supper. After the boys and I had eaten, I'd promised to read them a story before they went to bed. 'Bed' for Henry was on a small trundle bed in Jack's room that Arrow had kept for when Jack's friend's stayed over; for Amelia 'bed' was the Pack n' Play that Arrow had set up next to my bed in the guest bedroom. The boys were all tucked in their room, and after my story they were looking very tired. I sat in between them, and rubbed their backs until they fell asleep.

After the boys were asleep I checked on Amelia before heading downstairs to talk to Arrow. I walked slowly, this wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to. No matter how slowly I walked I finally made it downstairs, and I found Arrow in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. He was loading the dishwasher, and I silently began helping. Soon we were done, and he motioned to the family room. We sat down and he looked at me carefully.

"I think this would work best if we both knew everything important about what's happened to us while we've been apart. When you left, I got married to Haley and we had Jack. Not long after Jack was born the, uhm, stress of my job's hours had taken its toll on our marriage. She asked me for a divorce and left with Jack. After our divorce was final, one of our unsubs, uh, suspects, kidnapped Jack and Haley and he…" Arrow paused. He seemed on the verge of some sort of emotion, but I wasn't sure what. I placed a hand on his knee and looked at him.

"Arrow. It's okay", I said quietly. He shook his head, and placed his hand over mine.

"He…he managed to get Haley and Jack away from the federal marshals that were keeping them safe and he killed Haley. Jack was safe, I'd worked out a code with him that managed to get him away from the killer. We got him, the killer, he…died in the struggle to bring him in and I swear Avery I will never let anything like that happen to you or Henry or Avery and I can't – "

"Arrow. Arrow. ARROW", I interrupted. He was starting to look like he was going to hyperventilate or cry. "Arrow I don't doubt for one second in your ability to keep us safe. I would trust you with all of our lives, anytime. I'm so, so sorry for what happened to Haley. No one should have to go through that, especially not you and Jack. But just because that's what happened to Haley you cannot think that it will happen to everyone in your family. You have to believe me when I say that I couldn't feel any safer than when I am with you". I said, grabbing onto both his hands. How could someone do something like that to Arrow? Or to Jack, or poor Haley? I just didn't get it. Arrow's panicked expression softened. He hugged me tightly, as if trying to show me that he wouldn't let anyone hurt me. When we broke apart I saw moisture in his eyes, but no tears.

"After that I took a leave from the BAU. Eventually I realized that it was where I belonged and I returned. Do you know anything about what the BAU does?" I shook my head and he continued, "We use psychological profiling to help find serial killers. Psychological profilers use the minds of the criminals to find them and catch them. I work strange hours, and depending on the case I have to leave to another state to consult on a case. So Jack stays with his aunt, Jessica, when that happens".

"Well he won't need to go to her house anymore", I said firmly. "Unless you object, Jack can begin preschool with Henry, and then I can just bring him home with me after the center closes".

"That sounds okay to me. Jack needs to learn how to socialize with kids his own age, and I'm sure Jess would appreciate the break. That brings up another issue however, how are you going to get to work and back when I'm not around?" Arrow asked. I shrugged.

"Same as I always have I suppose. Using the bus and walking", I replied. He frowned.

"As of right now I'm not sure that I feel comfortable with you riding the bus so much", he said. I began to say that I was perfectly capable of riding the bus, I had been for a long time, but he interrupted me, "I know you've been doing it your whole life, and I'm sure you're extremely safe, but right now there's a killer out there who preys on vulnerable women. I'd just feel more comfortable with you using my car. I will use one of the bureau's SUV's in the meantime until we can get you one of your own". I shrugged my shoulders sheepishly.

"Well that would be lovely Arrow, but there's one problem. I never got my license in high school, and I still don't have one now", I said. He gave me an incredulous look.

"I can enroll you in a driver's ed class online or something, and we'll get you a license soon. Until then, we'll figure something out. Why don't you have your license?" he asked gently. I sighed.

"Well that's a nice segway into what's been happening to me for the last 10 years I suppose", I said before taking a big breath. Arrow adjusted himself, as if preparing himself to listen. "You know what happened to mom after dad died a little bit I suppose, but you can't imagine how far off the deep end she went. She threw away all of his clothes, his things, his pictures, everything. She refused to mention him or hear him mentioned. She wouldn't really even look at me anymore after he passed away. She went about her life like a ghost, doing what she was supposed to but not really being there. It was rough. Then she met Tom when I was 15, and she had Henry. She was so much better then, she acted more like my mom than I'd ever seen since dad died. I thought things would be better, that we could be a normal family. And things did improve for a while. But eventually family life was too much for Tom and he left her and Henry. He took off in the night, left her a note. Said he hoped she could forgive him. Dick." I said venomously. Arrow looked at me reproachfully.

"Sorry, but it's what he is. And after he left my mom completely gave up. Stopped working, started drinking and partying more and more. Eventually she went out one night and just…didn't come back. Henry was like 2 or 3. She'd left us no money, but I'd been working for quite some time by then, and I managed to survive with him on my own for a while. I finished school a few months early, and I just worked and took care of him. Got my own apartment and everything. After just a few months mom managed to find us. She was crying at my door at 3 in the morning; she said she was so sorry and that she wanted to be there for Henry and I. She also said she was pregnant, so I let her stay with us before Amelia arrived. Once Amelia arrived mom began going out more and more again, so I forced her to sign their guardianship over to me, and once I did she left again, taking my money with her. Things two kids things were tougher than I thought, and well you know what happened after that I guess" I finished. Arrow looked mad. Pissed even.

"And where is your mother now?" he said evenly.

"Beats the hell out of me", I said roughly. I didn't care to ever see her again. Any woman who abandons her children was no one I wanted to be around.

"Avery I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that's like", he said.

"I can't imagine what you've been through either", I replied. We gave each other a bigger hug than ever, and then sat back. "So. How do you like your job?" I asked, and we fell into a comfortable back and forth conversation for a while, away from the serious topic we'd been on before. We talked and talked and finally I began to yawn. Arrow got up and stretched, saying,

"Well I have to get to sleep. My old bones can't stay up this late anymore". I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"Mine either", I joked. He laughed too, before heading up the stairs to the bed. I got up and stretched, heading for the stairs. Before I got there something caught my eye in our stroller. I'd left everything in there (figuring I could put things away tomorrow) including my present from Dave. Curiosity peaking, I grabbed the box and sat down to open it. What I found inside was a brand new blue cell phone and an envelope with my name on it. Totally intrigued, I ripped open the envelope to find a note from Dave that said:

_Dear Avery, _

_I know that you're probably very uncomfortable with the idea of getting presents, however I also bet that you won't give this back once Aaron surmises why I'm giving them to you. Allow me this small mystery by not looking too far into my reasoning. I'm an old man, humor me. _

_I figured that you wouldn't have one of these, and outside of the fact that every teenage kid in America wants a cell phone, it really is a safe thing for you to have. I've prepaid for it to have unlimited calls and text messaging for an entire year. I've also taken the liberty of having some contacts put into it for you, just some important ones, feel free to add your own. It is your phone after all. _

_Sincerely, _

_David Rossi._

I was shocked. A cell phone? Toys were one thing, but a cell phone? Screw the card, I was going to bake him a damn cake. I eagerly opened up the box to find one of those texting phones that had a regular dial pad on the front and a full keyboard if you opened it. It was blue, and I loved it. I scanned the contacts, seeing who Rossi thought was necessary for me to be able to contact. There were only a few: him, Arrow, and the rest of the BAU team. My heart fluttered when I saw Spencer's name in there, and my heart raced when I saw that his name had a star next to it. I clicked on it and it said his name, email, and that he was one of my 'favorites'. I don't know how Rossi knew, but I'm glad he did. I felt an even bigger smile cross my face as I realized that I had Spencer Reid's number, and a phone to call him with. I looked at the time and guessed that he would probably be asleep by now, but found myself dialing his number anyways. My heart felt like it was going to jump further and further out of my chest with each ring of the phone, until I finally heard the most beautiful voice I've ever heard say,

"Hello?"


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: I'll admit, leaving that cliffhanger was a little mean of me, but come on. You know you love it! :) Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it just as much! This was my favorite chapter to write so far. Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of its characters!

Chapter 8

Spencer's POV:

I had finished out my workday fairly well, considering I had coworkers who just couldn't help but to bring up Avery every few minutes. Although Avery had become the favorite topic of my mind's conversation, I felt awkward talking about her to my coworkers; their implications and theories about her only served to embarrass me it seemed. They also gave me hope that there could be something between her and I that I really couldn't see, and that hope was a dangerous thing.

Nevertheless, by the end if my day I was completely exhausted. I shivered in the cold March weather as I walked to my car in the dark parking lot. In an effort to keep Avery off my mind I'd volunteered to stay late and finish up some paperwork from our recently solved cases. Before that our briefing on the unsolved case here in Quantico. Apparently the latest victim's son (David was his name, I think Avery mentioned) had told police that his mother had been receiving strange letters from someone for a few weeks prior to the discovery of her body. A quick check with the other victim's families revealed this to be a new evolution of this unsub. In addition, the coroner's report on all 3 women had come back; each woman had died due to some sort of blunt force trauma to her body. They'd been beaten to death. Morgan pointed out that since our unsub took an unusual amount of time between hunts, and our victim's cause of death was some sort of trauma, he/she was most likely keeping them for a while before killing and discarding them. And since each woman had been dumped in some sort of facedown position, Prentiss noted that indicated some sort of guilt on the unsubs part. We agree to review the profile and begin fresh Monday morning.

The rest of the team headed out to the bar after the meeting for some Saturday night drinks, but I just wanted to work and go to bed. Right when I came home I tossed my keys aside and fell onto my bed, shoes and all. After toeing off my converse I sighed and grabbed a book at random from my shelf. My brain was going into overdrive, and I was never going to get to sleep with this much on my mind. I mean how could I sleep when all I could picture were the bloodied bodies of those poor women? Picturing them made me sicker than it usually did because this time it was real; this unsub had the potential to take away someone I cared for very much, and I would stop at nothing to keep Avery safe. I'm not sure why I was so interested in being her savior all of the sudden, but I was bound and determined that Avery would never know the pain those women had.

Oh, Avery. Just thinking of her name sent those butterflies in my stomach wild. She'd been through so much in her life, more even I'm sure than what I knew about, and had still come out smiling. She was a one of a kind girl, sure, but I'd been attracted to her even before knowing who she was or what her background was. There was something about her that just clicked with me. Maybe it was the way she was easy to talk to, or the traditionally 'nerdy' interests we both seemed to share, but I just couldn't help but seem powerless to the connection I felt to her. Her looks, though completely secondary to her personality in my mind, were far too beautiful to allow my mind any peace either. Her hair was long and beautiful, and when I'd accidentally touched it I swear it felt like touching real satin. Her eyes were big and round, hypnotic and easy to read. Avery was one of those people who wasn't afraid to wear every emotion on their face, and for her all of them could be found in those big, wonderful eyes. Her face was round and rosy, and her body was indescribable. I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't looked at her body once or twice (or a few times) throughout the day. Her clothes weren't tight, but they weren't baggy and they displayed her wonderful figure. Avery's hips and bottom were rather large, and her waist was proportionately smaller, as were her ankles and calves. Her hands and feet were large, and her legs and arms were long. Her clothing choice seemed to favor a grungy sort of look, but an effortless one at any rate. Thinking of Avery soon drew my attention completely from my book, and I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. It really was going to be a long night.

Just as I started to focus on my book once more, my phone rang and startled me. I jumped a little before looking at my caller ID, finding that an unknown number was calling. Surprised, and highly suspicious I answered tentatively.

"Hello?" I said, hoping it was just someone with the wrong number.

"Hey, Spencer? It's Avery", a melodic voice said in my ear. I shot straight up in my bed; it was Avery. "I know it's pretty late, and I'm sorry if I woke you, I actually probably shouldn't have called this late. I don't know what I was thinking", she continued almost sheepishly. I shook my head vehemently, until I remembered that she couldn't see me.

"No no you didn't wake me. It's not that late, and I'm glad you called", I said honestly. I cleared my throat, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say thank you for everything you did today. You were fantastic with the kids, and you made today really special for them. And for me too", she said softly. "So thank you". I choked up a little, Avery was the sweetest woman alive.

"It was really nothing. Your kids are amazing, and I'm so happy that I contributed to your special day", I replied. "How did things go at your new home?" This seemed to be a great question, Avery launched into an animated account of everything that happened to her and her family after leaving the BAU. I simply listened, adding in comments where it was necessary and smiling at her obvious excitement. Ordinarily, I would have never gone that long in a conversation without talking, but if Avery was the one doing the talking I could listen forever. At some point the conversation shifted and we began talking about something off topic and that was all she wrote, as they say. We both shared our favorite books and movies, food, anything and everything we could think of. We talked for so long, and eventually we began talking about something, and Avery commented on my frequent use of statistics. I groaned as I apologized.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to work them out of everyday conversation. I've been told that the can be very odd things to say most times", I said sheepishly. Great, I was sitting here having the best conversation of my life and I'd forgotten to leave out those stupid statistics. Avery giggled.

"No don't you dare! I mean do what you want obviously, I'm not in any position to tell you what to do, but I happen to like your statistics", she said. My heart soared, she really like the way I spoke?

"I think they're interesting, and quirky in a really cute way", she amended quietly. My chest beat so loud that I was sure she could hear it over the phone. She thought I was cute? Surely I was dreaming. It WAS getting rather late.

"Really?" I finally questioned, hoping that I hadn't dreamed her last comment.

"Really", she said softly. Then she yawned adorably. "Sorry for yawning in your ear", she said laughing. "I guess I didn't realize how late it was getting. Time flies".

"Yeah it is getting late", I noted sadly. "I'm sure you'll be wanting to go to bed soon, I should probably let you off".

"That's probably a wise idea Dr. Reid. ", she teased. "But I wanted to ask you something first".

"What is it?" I asked curiously, ignoring the way my body reacted to the way she called me doctor.

"Well Rossi is actually the one who got me this cellphone, against my will I might add, and he also got presents for the kids. I wanted to have the kids help make him a cake and a card, you know as a thank you. Arrow has some sort of meeting he said, and he's going to be gone all day, but that he was the only one who had to go. I was hoping you could maybe drive us to the store and help us bake the cake then? I mean only if you want to because I know that you guys almost never get days off and I totally understand if you don't want to and-"

"Avery", I said cutting her off. She was speaking faster and faster, as if she were nervous that I was going to say no. As if I could ever turn down an opportunity to spend time with her. "Of course I would love to help you all, although I must admit I'm not much of a baker", I chuckled. She giggled as well.

"Seeing as Jack and Henry will be doing most of the work, I think your lack of experience will work in your favor", she said playfully. "How about I just text you, when we're all awake and ready, to give you Arrow's address?"

"_Your_ address", I reminded her gently. I wanted her to remember that she did have a home now.

"My address", she clarified. "Sound like a plan?"

"It sounds wonderful", I admitted.

"Okay then... goodbye Spence. Sweet dreams", she said softly.

"Goodnight Avery. I'll see you in the morning", I said wistfully. It was a promise. She hesitated before I heard the dial tone signaling the end of our conversation.

I couldn't believe I was so lucky; I thought my time today with Avery was all I was going to get, but now I could look forward to another whole day with her. I felt so incredibly happy now, simply remembering all that we'd discussed. Avery was the brightest, kindest, and most interesting girl I'd ever met. I was completely and wholly invested in making tomorrow an incredibly special day for her, her family, and myself. Hopefully, if things went well I would be able to ask her to spend some time with just me. My chest twisted nervously just with the thought; was that too close to asking her on a date? Hotch just got her back, surely even if he were suddenly okay with me seeing her he wouldn't allow her to go out so soon? Would she even say yes? How would I even begin to ask her? It wasn't like I had any experience in this field. Maybe I would give Morgan a call before going over? Then again, maybe I didn't want Morgan's kind of advice.

All my fears dissipated in smoky wisps when I thought of the girl that was causing me so much self-doubt. I smiled and began getting ready for bed, deciding I would figure this all out tomorrow. I was certain I could sleep now, knowing that I would see her soon. I was also fairly sure I knew who would be making a starring appearance in my dreams tonight. After all, she did say to have sweet dreams.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Hey all! So I have not one, but two unit tests this week in some of my classes, so I won't probably be posting much at all after this. So I made this chapter very long to make up for it! I really hope everyone likes it, so let me know by reviewing. Maybe with a lot of reviews I'll find some motivation and time to write faster this week!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Criminal Minds, just the ones I created for this story!

Chapter 9

Avery's POV:

After my phone conversation with Spencer, I just sat on the couch smiling like an idiot. Then after a while, the words began to sink in. I was going to get to see Spencer tomorrow, for at least a while. I got up and began to pace around, beyond excited. Then I remembered that if Spencer was going to be bringing the children and me to the store, then we were going to be needing their car seats. I walked into the kitchen to find something to leave a note for Arrow. Though I was certain to be up at the crack of dawn, if I slept at all, I wasn't sure how early he was leaving. I finally found the paper I needed, grabbed a marker from the drawer with the paper, and wrote:

_Dear Arrow, _

_Happy morning! Since I know you have your meeting I've asked Spencer to take the kids and me for supplies to bake Dave his cake. Dave got me a phone, can you believe it? Insane. _

_In order for Spence to take us though we will need the car seats out of your car. Could you possibly leave them for us? If not, don't worry. Spencer can come with us on the bus to make sure we're safe. I already have your number, and I'll text or call if there's anything we need! _

_Love you!_

_Avery_

I capped the marker, and placed the note under his car keys on the counter. Confident that he would find it, I quietly grabbed my P.J.'s from the stroller and headed upstairs. I stopped in front of the boy's room to check on them, and found both sleeping peacefully. I smiled and headed to the bathroom to change. When I padded into my room, I stood over Amelia's Pack n' Play to watch her sleep. I'd always found it soothing, hypnotic even to watch babies sleep. The way that their chests moved up and down, the contented expressions on their faces; everything about them gave me a sense of peace. After a few minutes of watching her, I finally climbed into bed. Laying down I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I struggled, I was too keyed up, too excited to see Spencer tomorrow.

Oh, Spencer. He was a special, wonderful man. I wasn't sure what it was that made me feel so connected to him, but I didn't really care. He was beyond sweet, he'd made a lasting impression on my little Henry for sure. Even while he was playing with Jack Henry had stopped to ask about Spencer. He wasn't only sweet, but he was so incredibly smart. He'd told me that he had a photographic memory, and that he had a crazy amount of degrees. I'd always wanted to go to college, and I highly respected anyone who could put that much time and effort into higher education. Outside of his amazing brain Spencer was, well, hot. Like seriously, ridiculously attractive. He was tall and lanky, which I would ordinarily hate in a man, but loved on him. I'd always thought that if I were going to date someone that they couldn't weigh less than me, I mean that was just strange. However, on Spencer I didn't really mind that he was so tall and lean; just the opposite, it seemed to work for him in a way I didn't predict. His hair was smooth, brown and beautiful. His eyes brought me peace, sort of like watching babies sleeping. As I thought about Spencer more and more I eventually drifted off into a deep, calming sleep.

Hotch's POV:

When I woke up the morning after bringing Avery, Henry, and Amelia to live with me I felt different. Happier, than I'd been in a long time. I smiled to myself as I got dressed and ready for my meeting, thinking of my family. I couldn't really explain, but I felt incredibly relieved. As I made my morning coffee, I saw a note underneath my keys. Curious, I picked it up to find that it was addressed to me from Avery. In her large, neat handwriting she explained that Reid was coming to pick her and the kids up in order to bring them to get supplies for a cake for Rossi. I felt an unknown emotion bubble up in my chest. I didn't know how I felt about Reid spending so much time with my niece. I wasn't blind, I'd seen how they were looking at each other in the BAU yesterday. I knew that they both had some sort of _crush_ on each other. I'd hoped that it was going to be just that, a crush. Something fleeting that was going to go away.

I gritted my teeth as I realized that I had no choice but to take the car seats from my car and let this day play out. If I left them without car seats they would just use the bus to get their errand done. As much as I wasn't sure that I wanted Avery spending time with Spencer, I certainly didn't want her on the bus anymore. I simply didn't want my niece dating anyone, period. Avery had been through so much, if anyone hurt her… they'd have me to deal with. Under my watch my nieces and nephews were going to have the best life they possibly could, no one was ever going to hurt them.

As I removed the car seats from the back of my car, I wondered if Reid was good enough for my Avery. Clearly I was fond of him, I knew him well. He was a good person, a smart man who would take care of her. Maybe if I had to let her go, he was the best one to entrust her with? My thoughts and uncertainties swirled in my head as I drove to work. I really didn't know what I was feeling, but I was certain of one thing. There was a certain young genius I needed to have a conversation with.

Spencer's POV:

I slept only a few hours, I was too eager to see Avery today to stay still for long. After a few hours of peaceful dreams of her beautiful face, I woke up. I was far too excited to go back to sleep, so I busied myself getting ready for the day: showering, combing my hair, and getting dressed. I agonized over what to wear for the first time in my life. I didn't own a pair of jeans, so a pair of slacks would have to do. Usually I wore a button up shirt of varying colors and a tie, but from the way Avery dressed I assumed that would be too overdressed for a day spent baking a cake. I finally decided on a dark grey button up, without a tie, and a matching cardigan.

After getting dressed I made myself some food, and tried to concentrate on a book. I was failing miserably, and just ended up watching my phone's clock for the better part of the time. I wondered how our day would go, would we get anytime to ourselves? Would it make a difference if we did? Truly I'd never wanted to ask someone out so badly in my life, nor been so terrified of her answer. If she said yes, I would be the happiest man on Earth, but I'd also have to deal with Hotch. I still didn't know how he'd react. If she said no, I think the pain of it would be unreal.

As I did in all the other troubled times of my life, I decided to write my mom a letter. I wrote to her every day, but in times of stress the letters became longer. I poured all of my thoughts surrounding Avery into that letter, in total about four pages long. My scribbly scrawly handwriting was even worse than usual, I'd scribbled as fast as my hand would allow. I somehow needed my mother's guidance about this situation; like she often said when I visited, 'a mother knows'. It was a shame I wouldn't see her answer for at least a week's time, I could use her advice right now.

As I finished my letter and began addressing it I heard my phone's text tone rang. Feeling my heart race, I flipped open my phone so hard that I thought it might break. Sure enough, the text message was from Avery.

_Hey! Sorry if it's early, but the kids and I are just making breakfast. I wasn't sure how far away you are, so I thought I would tell you our address now. Its 115 Hickory Ave. Come over whenever! : ) _

I noted with satisfaction that she used complete sentences and correct grammar in her text message. No 'lols' or 'omgs' in this message; I could practically hear her sweet voice through the words on the screen. I quickly typed back my reply.

_I don't live far from there, I will be there soon!_

I grabbed my keys, put a stamp on my letter to my mother, and left my apartment in a hurry. I practically threw the letter into the mailbox on my way out to my car. I was more than ready to begin this day.

Avery's POV:

I've never been what you'd call a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination. I liked my sleep that was for sure. So when Amelia began sleeping through the night I was overjoyed, until I realized that just meant she'd be waking me up at 7:00 every morning.

Every. Single. Morning.

However, this morning I beat even Amelia, waking up super early in my excitement to see Spencer. Boy did that speak to how damn eager I was to see him today. I groaned, realizing that it was not an acceptable time to text him and ask him to come over. I was sure that I'd kept him awake late last night, and I didn't want to cause him to lose anymore sleep. Depriving a man of his sleep was no way to try to win his love, I knew that much. So I busied myself getting ready, although my routine was probably shorter than most people's. Eyeing the clock, I decided that I had time for I quick shower before Amelia or Henry woke up. Running downstairs, I grabbed my shower caddy from the stroller and rushed through my already quick routine. After I toweled off, I threw my hair up in a bun (there was no way I was getting dry when it was down) and set off to pick my clothes. Sounding much more like a love-struck highschooler than I cared to admit, I thought to myself that I had nothing to wear. I didn't want to dress like a complete scrub, he'd never take me seriously, but I couldn't very well dress up for a day spent baking a cake. Oh, and speaking of baking there could be no white pieces to this outfit. I'd worked with enough kids to know that, while highly entertaining, baking wasn't exactly the cleanest project. I agonized for a few minutes before deciding on my leggings and a plain grey V-neck. I silently cursed the fact that I hadn't bought makeup in well over a year. Though it'd seemed like an unnecessary expense when I'd be struggling to pay rent, I wished I had at least some mascara or eyeliner to add some definition to my eyes.

After getting dressed and ready I found that all the kids were still asleep. Figures, the one day that I was actually ready and willing for the distractions their early morning schedules would bring, they slept in. Wondering what to do with myself, I realized all I wanted to do was talk about Spencer. Thinking about him was great, but I strongly wanted to share my thoughts with another person; to get their opinion on how to proceed with my day, how to act around him, get another opinion on if he really liked me… But who could I talk to? It was too early to call anyone, and I really didn't have many friends anyways. Suddenly I knew who I really wanted to talk to, it was the same person I always turned to in the rough times in my life. My dad. I dug the old picture of him from the stroller, and sat down on the couch.

"Hey daddy", I said. "I need to tell you about something; I just can't stay quiet, ya know? There's this guy daddy, his name is Spencer. He's the most interesting, wonderful man I've ever met…" As I narrated everything I knew about Spencer, all my thoughts and feelings I couldn't stop the tears from springing to my eyes. Even though I was grateful to even have this one picture of my father, it was hard to only be able to talk to him and not to have him answer back. I knew if anyone saw me talking to his picture like this they'd probably think I was crazy, but I couldn't help it. It wasn't like I thought the picture was him or anything, but I did like to think my daddy could hear me when I spoke to him. I truly wanted to believe that he was an angel, looking down on me.

I wiped my tears away, feeling stupid for allowing myself to cry. I'd never really let myself cry, especially not in front of anyone else. Every time I'd cried after my dad died my mother hadn't comforted me in any way, so eventually I just stopped. Crying didn't solve any problems, and now I just didn't feel comfortable crying in front of anyone. I mean, what if they thought I was some kind of emotional wreck? They'd think I wasn't capable of keeping up with my kids, and they might second guess my guardianship or something. I couldn't let that happen. I sat and looked at the picture for a few minutes longer before I heard Amelia's cries from upstairs. After kissing my father's picture I jogged up the stairs, happy for the distraction from my small pity party. I cooed at Amelia and grabbed her from the Pack n' Play. She calmed down marginally, but I could tell the silence wouldn't last long. Like her big brother and sister, Amelia wasn't terribly fond of waking up. Taking her down the stairs, I picked out some new clothes for her, and changed her PJ's as well as her diaper. After that I decided to make her a bottle and headed into the kitchen. As I was filling her bottle at the sink, I heard a small voice behind me call my name. I turned to find that Jack had woken up, and was standing behind me rubbing his eyes.

"Avery, where's daddy?" He asked. I set the bottle down and knelt in front of him.

"Daddy had to go to work buddy. But don't sweat it, cause you get to spend all day with Henry, Amelia, and me", I said cheerfully. "And don't tell Henry, but there's a super special mission we need to complete before daddy gets home. Do you think you can help?" Jack's eyes got wide, and he quickly nodded his head. "Good. We'll get to that a little later today, for now, how bout you and I hang out before Henry gets up? What do you usually do before breakfast?" I asked.

"Sometimes daddy watches SpongeBob with me before breakfast", he said hopefully. "Can we watch cartoons?"

"Sure we can", I said smiling. "I need to make Amelia's bottle, can you go turn them on for me and we'll meet you there?" He smiled and headed off to the family room. I returned to Amelia's bottle, finishing it quickly and heading over to Jack. I found him sitting down on the couch, watching a commercial for some new cereal made of cookies. I sat down next to him and began feeding Amelia. Jack turned and looked at me curiously.

"Why is she drinking her milk like that?" he asked. I stifled a giggle before I answered. He was just too cute.

"Well she's just a baby. She can't drink from a cup like the big kids like you can", I said kindly. This seemed to satisfy him, and he turned back to the cartoon that had returned to the screen. We chatted here and there during the show, about our favorite colors (mine blue, his red) or how Patrick was a funny guy. It was simple and cute, and I felt a little silly for even thinking Jack wouldn't like us. Eventually Henry made his way downstairs, looking like he had gotten into a fight with his bed. Seriously. Amelia and I may not be morning people, but Henry was the worst of us all. He sat down and cuddled into my side, not speaking for a while.

Eventually Amelia finished her bottle, and I laid her down on the floor with some toys, I'd hoped she'd be crawling soon. She was super close, but usually got frustrated that it didn't just come to her. She was a stubborn one, just like her sister. After a few more peaceful minutes of TV time I focused on the boys.

"Hey, dudes. I think it's time for a little breakfast before we start on our secret mission okay? Let's go see what Arrow left us for food", I said.

"What mission Avery?" Henry asked, finally sounding awake. I'd forgotten that I hadn't told him about our 'mission'.

"Spencer is coming over, Uncle Arrow left us a special mission", I explained. Henry gave out an excited gasp, and Jack smiled.

"Really? Spencer, Spencer's really coming?" Henry said, bouncing up and down. I nodded happily before pointing up the stairs.

"Yep! But he's not coming unless you're ready, so run up and get changed. Then we'll have breakfast, and start on our mission", I said. I started clapping loudly. "Let's go! Move it men, move it!" They responded immediately, falling all over each other up the stairs and out of sight. I laughed a little at their antics, scooped up Amelia and headed into the kitchen. I laid a blanket for her nearer to the door and let her play once more before starting on hunting for food. Before I even made a move to look for food, I made a split decision to text Spencer. If all my kids were up, surely he was too? I grabbed my new phone and sent a text to him, heart beating loudly as I did. When I'd pressed send I set my phone down and turned back to the cabinets, trying to focus on finding food for the boys and me. In reality I was desperately listening for the vibration of my phone. As I pulled out a few boxes of cereal (all gross healthy ones too, blech) and began to look for bowls, I got what I wanted. I heard my phone buzz and I practically jumped at it. I smiled like an idiot as I read that he was on his way, and found the bowls I was looking for. As I prepared the cereal for the boys and me, I couldn't help but wonder just how long it would be until he got here. After Jack and Henry came down (dressed in some, eh, questionably colorful outfit choices) and started eating, I made Amelia some mushy rice cereal out of the dry mix and some of her formula. I went to grabbed her car seat, placed her in it, and began feeding her. As she got about halfway through the mix, I heard a doorbell ring. I practically ran to the door and looked through the peephole. I saw Spencer through the door and smiled before practically throwing it open.

"Hey Spence! I'm happy to see you", I said beaming. I waved him into the house, taking pleasure in the fact that his smile was almost as large as mine. Almost. I led him into the kitchen, saying, "I'm sorry we aren't exactly ready for you yet, but the boys are probably done eating and Amelia is almost finished with her breakfast too. So we can go soon". Ugh my voice sounded so chipper, so _girly_. I needed to get that in check, fast. Thankfully, Spencer didn't seem to mind, following me into the kitchen still smiling.

"That's alright. I don't mind waiting at all. Hi Amelia!" he said enthusiastically as he bent over to speak to her. "And I'm glad to see you too Avery", he added softly as he stood back up. I couldn't breathe, his face was so close and his eyes were so sincere, so honest. I couldn't stop myself from reaching up and pulling him into my arms for a hug. Just like yesterday, my whole body felt like it was on fire; it was as if every nerve ending stood straight up and said 'yesssss' to his touch. I never wanted to let go, never wanted this moment to end.

"SPENCER". I heard Henry yell. I felt a small body attach itself to my leg, and Spencer's. We broke apart, each looking down at Henry with embarrassment. Spencer composed himself long before I did, clearing his throat and kneeling down to speak to Henry. I took a deep breath and sat back down to finish feeding Amelia. I sincerely hoped that if today went well that Spencer would ask me out. I would never be so bold as to actually ask someone out, the fear of rejection was too much for me. But judging by the way that he held me, the way I felt when I was around him, I thought maybe I could. But then again maybe it would hurt worse, knowing that I felt the way I did about Spencer. I snuck a look at him, still talking to Henry animatedly about something, and felt my heart lift at the sight.

I really hoped today went well.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long for me to get this chapter out! I really did have a very busy week, but the good news is that the chapter is out now. I hope you guys like this one, and if you do review for me. If you don't like it, review anyways and tell me why! Also I'm on the lookout for a person to read my chapters before I put them out; someone to look them over with fresh eyes just to make them to make sure that they're the best they can be! If you're interested let me know! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Criminal Minds or Princess and the Frog

Chapter 10

Spencer's POV:

As I sat and talked to Henry about some sort of secret mission (which I admittedly knew nothing about) all I could really think of was the hug Avery and I had shared. It was beyond unexpected for me, but I didn't mind in the slightest. In fact, holding Avery in my arms had become my new favorite thing to do. Period. As I watched Henry get more and more excited about our' 'mission', I snuck another glance at Avery. This time, she was already looking back at me, a slight smile on her face. I smiled in response, enjoying the way her face tinged pink when I'd caught her looking at me. I stood up after Henry and Jack began to argue about who was more excited about our mission. I started to say something, but Avery quickly diffused the situation.

"Well you're both wrong because everybody knows that AMELIA is most excited", she said standing up. When they began to protest, she threw her hands on her hips and continued, "Of course she is! Everybody knows that babies love cupcakes the best. I bet you guys don't even like cake". The reaction that followed from the boys was even more frantic, they seemed shocked. How dare she say they didn't like cake? Ludicrous.

"Wait wait. So you're telling me that you...do like cake? And cupcakes too? Are you sure?" Avery said, feigning confusion. I stifled another laugh. Her mock confusion was utterly adorable, as were the boy's overwhelming response to her question.

"I'm so sure!" cried Henry.

"I'm super-duper sure!" yelled Jack.

"Okay then this is perfect. Because the mission Uncle Arrow left us is to make Agent Rossi a cake! And I want to make some cupcakes for Uncle Arrow as our own super-secret. So since you both love cake so much, why don't you help? Do you accept your super special mission?" Avery asked, kneeling down and speaking in a voice so secretive that the boys had to lean in to hear her. It was overall just the cutest thing I'd ever seen. The boys just nodded solemnly, and Avery shook both their hands before replying.

"Good. Now, I need you to go shut off the TV and put your shoes and coats on, alright? We need to go get supplies", she said, straightening up. "Hustle up dudes!" They practically ran out of the room, almost tripping over each other in the process. I couldn't stifle my laugh at them this time, and apparently neither could Avery. She leaned on my side for support and giggled. Ignoring my desire to pull her back into my arms, I jokingly asked,

"So when was I going to be told about our' super-secret mission'?". I grinned at Avery, who looked, paused, and then smiled back.

"Sorry agent. Forgot", she said playfully. "But we have our own mission right now. Do you accept?"

My heart sped up a little at her phrasing. 'Our' sounded nice when I knew it meant Avery and I. "Do I get a hint?" I asked.

"Well it's not so much a mission as it is a 'choose your own adventure type thing", she said thoughtfully. I must have given her a strange look, because she continued on, saying, "We have 2 things to accomplish before heading out the door: putting the car seats in the car, and changing Amelia's diaper. Since I have no idea how to put car seats anywhere, and you probably don't know how to change a diaper, it's not so tricky to choose our adventures I guess. I just didn't want to make assumptions on what you could or couldn't do. I mean you have a godson maybe you have some crazy FBI diaper changing secrets even I don't know. Maybe you invented car seats and I'd never known. And I guess... I should stop talking. You'll find I tend to just keep talking until someone stops me. And until someone stops me I can make a ton of nonlinear, unrelated points that have nothing to do with my original...sorry, I'm done", she said sheepishly, turning a lovely shade of pink. I chuckled at her, clearly she didn't realize that I thought her rambling was extremely cute, and that I could talk for hours as well.

"So, diaper or seats?" she said, apparently having regained some composure. I thought for almost no time at all before answering,

"Car seats, you were right, I don't know how to change a diaper". She giggled at me, and then she pointed to where the other two car seats were located. I smiled at her one last time before she disappeared from the kitchen, presumably to change Amelia.

I smiled, just to myself before heading to find the boys. It really was going to be a lovely day.

SpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAverySpencerAvery

Needless to say, after just one shopping experience with 3 children I was in awe. Not just in awe of Avery, but of all mothers and fathers in general. I mean I thought Henry was a really well behaved child, and I knew Jack had to be (he was Hotch's kid for goodness sakes), but even so shopping had been an experience to say the least. Simply trying to reign in all their energy and questions was a daunting task alone. I'd felt a bit overwhelmed initially; after all, children were certainly not one of my areas of expertise. I'd looked over for help from Avery more than a few times, and every time I was stunned to find that the chaos didn't seem to faze her. She just smiled and directed them as needed, seemingly only when things were really crazy. Like when the boys had managed to' accidentally' knock over a whole display of boxed cereal. She didn't even flinch; she just told the boys to help her pick it up, and began asking them questions. It was odd, instead of telling them what to do she generally phrased things as questions. Things like,

"Well are we inside or outside? Well do we run inside? No? Then maybe next time we should use some slower feet, and watch for things in our way, right?" And always in that genuine sounding voice too; the woman was a wonder.

I did note however that even my initial discomfort eventually faded away the more and more I observed. Avery was collected, and just being around that sort of energy seemed to have a calming effect on not only the children, but me as well.

When we finally made it back to the house the boys were so excited that they were practically bouncing off the walls. I saw that Amelia was fussing though, so I offered to distract them while Avery gave her a bottle and a nap. She looked surprised and pleased that I had remembered that 12:30 was time for Amelia's bottle/nap. I just smiled and allowed the boys to pick out a board game, which we set up in the family room while some cartoons played idly in the background. I was having an enjoyable time just talking with the guys and pretending to be terrible at Chutes and Ladders. Avery just smiled and watched on from her reclining chair where she sat feeding a sleepy Amelia.

I started wondering to myself if this was what being a family, a normal family that is, felt like. The thought of being a family with not just Avery, but anybody, thrilled me. It also terrified me. What if I were no good at it? I hadn't been a part of a typical family in, well, ever. The overwhelming feelings I'd felt in the grocery store began to bubble back up, but this time stronger. The more I thought about it the more terrified I became; truly I was completely out of my element here, and I had no statistics on situations like this.

I was trying to focus on the boys, our game, but even that wasn't helping. I couldn't explain the sudden anxiety I had about everything that I'd experienced the last 2 days. Had it really only been 2 days? Less than 48 hours of my life and here I was, defying fundamental parts of who I'd thought myself to be. Had it really only been hours since I'd met Avery? Somehow I got the ridiculous feeling that I couldn't seem to picture life without at least the knowledge of her existence anymore. I shook my head, thoughts beginning to get clouded and muddled. I quietly excused myself from the game and walked into the kitchen, hoping to get some air and gather my thoughts. Just as I was beginning to feel better, I heard a voice behind me say,

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Avery had come up behind me, carrying a now sleeping Amelia with her. She looked very concerned; her brows were adorably furrowed in confusion and her big blue eyes were filled with empathy. She stepped closer to me, waiting for my response I suppose. What was I supposed to say? That I was feeling so strongly attached to her that I'd almost had a panic attack? I'm sure she would freak out and order me out of her life.

"I just, ah, I", for once in my life I was speechless.

"I know we can be a little much sometimes", Avery said, breaking my rambling. "I don't know for sure, but I get the feeling that you haven't had the chance to be around many kids. I don't really know what that's like exactly. I'm sure it's really overwhelming and a lot to handle, and I don't blame you for needing to take a second".

I felt what was left of my anxiety disappear, and a small smile played on my lips. I wasn't sure why, but Avery's words really seemed to help. She was just so sincere, so honest. Now I remembered why I had been feeling so strongly the last 2 days. She was just so _real. _

"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave either", she continued softly.

I shook my head at her; leaving was the last thing that I wanted to do right now. My anxiety was completely forgotten, and I realized that I didn't care that my feelings were scary. I'd get through them, as long as she was here.

"I think I'll stay if it's okay with you. I mean what kind of FBI agent would I be if I ducked out of a secret mission?" I joked.

"A human", she said softly. I gathered from her expression that she wasn't talking about our mission. I smiled at her, before she walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. I headed back into the living room to finish my game with the boys, but stopped dead in my tracks and turned the other way. I felt like I needed to tell Avery one more thing.

Avery's POV:

As I carried Amelia to our room I couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sense of disappointment. I was so stupid to think that Spencer could just fit right in and handle everything that my life was. Nobody could just walk in to my strange situation and just own it right? I'd had my whole life to get used to it, but other people needed time to digest what I really did on a daily basis. I had to give it to Spencer, he'd done a great job so far. I mean we'd only known each other for like a day, albeit a very strange day. It was ridiculous the amount of changes my family and I had gone through in that day. Why was I allowing my ridiculous feelings to cloud what I was really here to do? I was here to take care of my kids. I didn't need a man to complicate that, even if it was a wonderful, handsome one like Spencer. Really. I was fine.

Right.

As I placed a kiss on Amelia's forehead and turned to leave the room I jumped slightly. Spencer was standing in the doorway, looking cute and determined. I shot him a confused expression as I silently ushered him out of the room and shut the door. Once it was shut I raised an eyebrow at him, wordlessly asking what was up with the sudden intrusion. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally managed to say something.

"Avery I, uhm, I'm sorry that I couldn't ahm. I couldn't wait there was something that I, uh, needed to tell you. Uh-", he said nervously. I placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Spence. I know, okay? My life is a lot to get through your head. You're doing amazingly well. Most of my friends left way sooner than this, and the fact that you're trying is spectacular. Really. You don't have to explain anything to me", I said quietly. I really meant it, he was trying. I wasn't going to put any more expectations on him as I did for anyone else. He smiled a little smile that made my stomach do flip flops, and I returned it.

"I'm glad you think I'm doing so well, I thought I was failing miserably", he laughed. I smiled and shook my head, but he continued.

"But that wasn't what I wanted to say. I wanted to explain, why I was feeling so anxious before. You seem to think it's, uh, all attributed to your family, and that is part of it, but not everything. I suppose anxious might be a, uhm, strong word. Maybe nervous is better. I was nervous, ahm, in part because of you", he said quietly. I'm sure my face betrayed my surprise, because he continued quickly.

"I don't mean that in a, ahm, a bad way, please don't take it like it sounded. I mean it in the best kind of way. I mean that, ahm, that you make me nervous because I feel so comfortable around you, and that's weird. Weird for me, weird for anyone I guess because we've only known each other for less than 30 hours, but I just wanted to say that I don't care. I like being around you Avery. And I know it might be strange for me to say that so soon, but I just felt like I should tell you", he said, reminding me very much of my ramblings earlier. He spoke quickly, as if he were afraid he'd lose the courage if he didn't say things as quickly as he could. I blushed, and wondered how he'd been able to say the exact right thing to calm my nerves.

"Spence I love hanging out with you too, and I understand exactly what you mean. I don't know why we're able to be so comfortable around each other, but I was sort of questioning it too. Maybe it's best if we don't question it too much? I mean I'm not saying we should get _too_ comfortable, but I don't know. I like hanging out with you", I ended lamely. He smiled at me, and my heart did some flip flops along with my stomach.

"I would like that very much", he said. Then he cleared his throat, "I think we have a cake to bake". He smiled at me once more before we both started down the stairs. I reflected on how wonderful, miraculous even, that we both seemingly felt the same way. Confused, but optimistic. I wondered where life would lead us, but as we reached Henry and Jack all thoughts of Spencer flew away. Spencer was right, we had a cake to bake.

After preheating the oven I set out all we needed for the cake and called for the boys, they'd been happily finishing their game with Spencer, who seemed content and happy. A far cry from the nervousness I'd detected when we'd arrived home from the store. When they finally ran in, I helped the boys start mixing the batter. I frowned. Even with all their chatter, something was missing; things were too quiet.

"Spence can you supervise this chaos for a second? I gotta go find something", I asked. He nodded, and began helping the boys crack some eggs into a bowl. I ran up the stairs and quietly entered my room. I silently unplugged the alarm clock and snuck out the door. I bounced into the kitchen and almost laughed at the sight in front of me. Henry and Jack stood on their chairs next to the counter, which was now covered by what I assumed was the powdered cake mix. Spencer looked amused as well, and I had to say. A face full of chocolate powder was a good look on anyone in my book, but on Spencer it was beyond adorable.

"Lesson learned, never let the 5 year old open the bag of cake mix", he said, looking pointedly at Jack. Jack just grinned at me.

"Ooops", he said.

"Good thing I'm the best big sister cousin lady in the whole wide world; I bought two boxes", I said, pulling said box out of our paper bag and handing it to Spencer. I also plugged the radio in near the counter and started fiddling with it. As soon as Henry saw it his face lit up with a big smile, and he shouted 'hooray'. I smiled as well, and finally found a station playing music; Henry and I did a little dance to the oldies rock song that played. I laughed, and eventually looked at Spencer, who seemed amused by our antics. I turned a bit red, and decided to help the boys mix our cake, given how opening the box had gone. This involved me getting behind the boys' chairs on the counter, close to Spencer as I'd ever been. If I wasn't red before, I was now; I didn't even dare turn to look at his reaction. Soon the cake was mixed and the boys helped me pour the batter into our pan, and I put it into the oven.

After we repeated our process for the cupcake batter I asked the boys to get off their chairs and get ready for a rest time. Before they could protest I grabbed each of their hands and started dancing around the kitchen with them. It was so silly, we all began laughing. Even Spencer laughed from his place near the counter. I decided he was too stationary, so I gave the boys each other's hands, and grabbed Spencer's hands. I started dancing, apparently to his extreme surprise given his face. He seemed stiff and unwilling to dance at first, but after a little bit of encouragement from the boys he started dancing just as silly as the rest of us. I giggled like crazy, this morning I would have never been able to picture a dance party in my kitchen with Spencer Reid to the tune of AC/DC. The song eventually ended, and I clapped my hands (which were still tingling from being in Spencer's soft, larger ones) and knelt down with the boys.

"Alright agents. This has been a great mission, but we can't finish it for a little while. So, in the meantime I need you both to take a rest", I said. When they gave me disappointed faces, I rolled my eyes and amended, "BUT. Since you did such a great job today, I guess I can let you take your rest in the living room, while we watch a movie? Maybe even The Princess and the Frog?" They both looked like they couldn't believe their luck. I knew that Jack had that movie, I'd seen it near the TV, and I knew that they would both love it.

"If you want to watch it though you have to go grab your blankets and pillows and meet me in the living room", I said. They scurried away, running towards the stairs. "And be quiet, Amelia is still sleeping!" I smiled at them, before turning to Spencer. "Well agent, your place in our mission is over; you did a spectacular job. I suppose that means you'll be going soon", I said sadly. It was true though, Spencer had done what he came to do, and now he'd be leaving.

"If it's alright with you I think I'll stay. Once the cake is done I could bring you to the BAU to leave it for Dave?" he asked, adorably nervous. As if I'd ever deny him time with my kids and I. I grinned at him, and bumped his shoulder with mine, nodding in the direction of the living room.

"Spence I'll never deny you quality time with my crazy little family! So let's go watch a Princess and a frog fall in love", I said. He grinned at me, and we walked to the family room to watch our movie with the boys. All the boys settled in while I started the movie. Henry and Jack were curled up next to each other on Spencer's side on the couch, already looking like they were going to pass out. I sat on Spencer's other side, pulling my favorite blanket around myself starting the movie. I turned to look at my boys, and I noticed that Spencer's face was bright red and he seemed especially stiff. I realized then just how close we were sitting on the couch together, arms touching. I blushed too, but didn't move. I liked being around Spencer, and I felt comfortable being close to him. Besides, this was how I sat with everyone; I couldn't help it, I was a touchy feely kind of gal. In an effort to make him feel less uncomfortable, I offered him some of my blanket to share. After hesitating for a moment, he accepted and we turned our attention back to the movie, which was admittedly pretty darn cute. I'd always had a soft spot for Disney movies, and I think this was my new favorite. Eventually I felt my eyelids get heavy, and I leaned my head on Spencer's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, and I felt him place his head on my head. As we watched Tiana and Prince Naveen fall in love, I couldn't help but look up at Spencer's peaceful face and smile. I was really happy, sitting here with him. We sat for a while in comfortable silence, watching the movie with the boys sleeping peacefully next to us.

I heard the kitchen timer go off, and I reluctantly got up to remove the cake and cupcakes from the oven. After shutting the oven off and placing the baked goods on the counter to cool, I went back into the living room to watch the rest of the movie. I returned to my spot next to Spencer, and cuddled into his side once more. I briefly wondered if this was inappropriate. I mean, I'd only known Spencer for a few days and here I was, sitting close and watching a movie with him as comfortable as could be. I mean, I still didn't know if Arrow would even like us being friends. Anyways, was that what we were? Friends? It didn't feel right calling us that, even if we had just met. I wasn't going to push things though, clearly Spencer had some reservations about me and my family; while I didn't blame him, I sincerely hoped that he accepted us soon. I snuggled closer into his side, smiling and closing my eyes. I thought to myself that in the meantime, I didn't mind being his friend.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Hey y'all! So this weekend's chapter is going up a little early because I had to drive back home for my brother's football game. I really hope you guys like this chapter, but whether you do or don't still leave a review. Who knows, with more reviews I could be persuaded to write faster ;) **

Chapter 11

Avery's POV:

I woke up with a start; something was buzzing inside my pocket. I groggily realized it was my new phone and smiled a little bit at the knowledge that I finally had my own phone. Then I frowned in confusion; who could possibly have my number? Wanting to let Spencer sleep, I carefully slid out from his arms (I noted, with extreme satisfaction, that they had ended up around my waist at some point during the movie). After heading to the kitchen I looked down at my now silent phone. It seems I'd missed the call, but I flipped it open to see who it was from anyways. I smiled at the name that came up on my screen; Garcia, P. Figures she would be the first one to call me on my new phone. Outside of Spencer, who didn't really count because I'd been the one to call him. Just as I contemplated calling her back, my phone began to buzz and light up; she was calling me again. Flipping open the phone I greeted her quietly,

"Hey Garcia, what's up?"

"Avery my dear sweet girl!" she practically shouted back. Okay maybe she wasn't shouting, but I was used to the relative quiet of the house right now and she was pretty darn loud. "We need to talk about that fantastic idea I had yesterday".

"Oh yeah, right. Well I talked to Arrow, and I guess I'm on board. As long as it doesn't turn into some whole big thing", I conceded in a hushed tone. It was the truth, I really had brought up the situation to Arrow during our chat last night. He'd basically told me the party situation was going to happen, despite my protest, for two major reasons. Firstly, it was going to happen because the team was his family, and by definition that made them my family too. And apparently he thought I'd really made an impression on them, particularly Garcia. Which brought him to his second point; Garcia liked me and she would make this happen, one way or another. I still wasn't 100% comfortable with the idea of getting handouts from people, but Arrow said it would just be a few presents.

"Oh I knew you would love the idea eventually! And how could you not", she gushed. "By the way, why are you whispering?"

Seeing an opportunity to mess with her a little, I smirked before answering,

"Cause Spencer's asleep in the next room, and I don't wanna wake him".

It was like the call had been dropped; Garcia had gone absolutely silent. I could picture her sweet face, mouth agape, trying to form a coherent sentence. Evidentially she found her voice, because after her brief silence she practically exploded.

"What do you mean in the next room? Where are you? Where was he? What did you-I knew you loved him! I saw yesterday. When you get married I am so going to be a bridesmaid, oooo or even a maid of honor. OH. Can we were blue dresses? Wait, no, tell me everything. Right now young lady!" Her voice was extremely high pitched, and she spoke so fast I thought she was going to pass out. Seriously, she never even took a breath. I just giggled and rolled my eyes.

"What do you mean Penelope? He's on the couch with the boys. We were all watching a movie and fell asleep. Why else would he have been sleeping here?" I questioned in my most innocent voice. I had to cover my laugh as I pictured her bewilderment.

"I just-uhm-well-I mean", she stammered nervously. I giggled at her for a moment.

"Relax Pen, I'm just screwing with you", I said quietly. "But for the record, I wouldn't let a guy I just met stay over. Even if it was Spencer. Who does not love me by the way".

"Oh I would have to call some serious shenanigans on that my dear. I've been Reid's friend for a long while, and I have never seen him so nervous and shy around a girl ever. The question is do you like him back? And I mean of course you do because I saw how you looked at him yesterday- wait, Pen? Aww did you just give me a nickname?" she gushed. I laughed again, she was just too cute.

"Sorry it's a bad habit of mine. I almost never call people by their full names. Is that okay?"

"Okay? Okay? It's just about the sweetest thing I've ever heard. But anyways, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you and Spencer were doing", she said flirtatiously. I rolled my eyes, but smiled in spite of myself. At least I know his friends would support us, in case something really did happen. Which I really, REALLY, hoped would. If only Spencer weren't so damn nervous about my family.

"BUT", Garcia continued, breaking my thoughts. "What are you doing the rest of this week?"

"Uhm working? Otherwise nothing. Working is about all I ever do, outside of taking care of my kids", I chuckled.

"Oh! Well when do you work? I want to take you out shopping or something; ya know so we can get to hang out and also talk about the party and stuff", she chattered excitedly. I agreed, it'd been a long while since I'd been out with a friend, and Penelope seemed very friendly. We quickly worked out a time that worked for the both of us, Wednesday night after my shift.

"Well lovely I'll pick you up, Wednesday at 6:30. I can't wait!" she squealed.

"Me neither!" I replied happily. "Bye Pen!"

"Until Wednesday love" she said before hanging up. I smiled as I flipped my phone shut; I truly was excited to go somewhere with a friend, and doubly excited that it was with Garcia. She seemed like she was a great person. I smiled and turned to go back to the living room, then jumped slightly at the sight of someone in the doorway. It was Spencer, who was rubbing his eyes tiredly with the back of his hands.

"I'm so sorry Avery I really didn't mean to fall asleep", he said genuinely. I felt the smile return to my face as I answered.

"S'okay Spence, I fell asleep too before my phone woke me up", I reassured him. He was just too cute, leave it to Spencer to feel sorry for sleeping during naptime. "Garcia called to talk about that party she's planning, we're going out later this week to discuss things."

"Oh and she asked about you too", I added as an afterthought. His face turned an alarming shade of white.

"S-she did?" he stammered. "What did she s-say exactly?" I smiled, clearly he knew that Garcia was apparently already planning our wedding-even though we were sadly not together. Part of me wanted to reassure him that she hadn't said anything embarrassing, but another part wondered what sort of Spencer secrets Garcia knew, and how I could convince her to tell me. Another, seemingly dominant part of me wanted to see if I could make him blush.

"Oh she just asked if we'd gone off and eloped yet", I said innocently. It wasn't far from the truth actually.

"And w-what did you say?" he questioned nervously. I smirked.

"Oh obviously I told her that we had, and that I'd send her the pictures of it soon. Then she said something about beautiful genius babies and I kinda tuned her out", I said as seriously as i could manage. Just as I'd hoped, his face went from sheet white to bright red in no time. He started stammering nervously, until I giggled and cut him off.

"I'm only kidding Spence. Well, mostly kidding. She did actually ask if we were getting married, but she was kidding too. I think", I reassured him. As much as I enjoyed his pink face I wasn't going to be cruel or anything. He seemed visibly relieved, and he stopped stammering and managed a shy smile. I smiled back, just as warmly. Boy did I love this man's smiles.

"So I think we should use this rare instance where all the kids are snoozing to frost the cake and cupcakes, if that's okay with you", I said shyly. I really did want to take care of the baked goods, but I realized that this would be the first time Spencer and I were really truly going to be alone. Which was an extremely exciting idea, but also terrifying.

"Of course. Whatever you want is fine with me", he said softly. I felt my heart lift, he was so sweet. I handed him a can of frosting and pointed him to the cupcakes. After explaining to him how to frost a cupcake, ignoring how close I was when demonstrating, we quietly began working on our tasks. After a few minutes of companiable silence I frowned, and clicked on the radio. After turning the volume down, I twiddled the stations until I found a song I liked. Satisfied I returned to my work, quietly humming along. Eventually I finished my work on the cake and decided to throw a pizza in for the boys. No doubt they'd be starving when they woke up, in our baking adventure we'd somehow forgotten lunch. Not like that was anything new for me, but I never wanted my little people to turn out like me. In years past I'd really struggled with an eating disorder, and I still had trouble with it sometimes. Though I usually forced myself to eat, it was usually only because I knew that my kids needed me to be the best I could be. I still couldn't bring myself to eat around other people though, no matter how hungry I was. It just made me so self-conscious.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Spencer said, echoing my earlier words and snapping me out of my reverie.

"Just thinking about today and how much fun we had", I quietly fibbed. I hated lying, but there was no way I was going to explain what I'd been really been thinking about. I knew from experience that talking about my problem only made people uncomfortable; they never understood what I was feeling, and they always told me to 'just stop'. As if were that easy. No I wouldn't be telling any of my new family this part of my life anytime soon, especially not Spencer.

"I'm glad you had fun, I did too", Spencer said honestly. I smiled and moved to look at his cupcakes. I laughed and shook my head a little at the sight; they looked as if a child had made them, they were messy and lopsided. It was adorable.

"I did warn you that baking wasn't my forte", he said sheepishly. I smiled and waved him off, indicating it was no big deal. I stepped in next to him and began fixing some of the cupcakes. In an attempt to ignore how tingly my arm felt that was super close to mine, I started quietly singing along to the radio. Eventually it worked as I got lost in the song, almost forgetting that Spencer was anywhere near me.

_'I might have to wait, I'll never give up _

_Guess its half timing, and the other half's luck _

_Wherever you are, whenever it's right _

_You'll come out of nowhere and into my life _

_And I know that we can be so amazing, and baby your love is gonna change me _

_And now I can see every single possibility.. .' _

I sang along to the song that had constantly been playing on the radio lately. I usually didn't care for the Top 40 hits, but this one was different, it sounded almost like an oldies song. I totally loved it. It wasn't until I heard Spencer drop his frosting knife next to me that I even remembered he was there. When I looked up and saw the way that he looked at me, an unreadable expression in his beautiful hazel eyes, I realized what I'd been singing. I'd basically just sang an entire love song, while standing next to Spencer.

Spencer's POV:

Avery's voice was breathtaking. I wouldn't expect anything less from her, the girl was completely amazing in every capacity. But_ her voice_. It was so deep and pure, hypnotic even. I found myself calmly listening to her sing for a while when she was fixing my cupcake mess, but froze when I realized what she was singing about. She was singing a love song.

_'And someday I know it'll all turn out _

_I'll work to work it out _

_Promise you kid, I'll give more than I get' _

Not just a love song, she was singing about waiting, about making things work. What did she mean by this? Did she mean anything? Either way the sound of her voice, those words, were enough to make me drop my knife and have it clatter to the counter noisily. When I did, she stopped singing and looked up at me. Once again, we just stood there staring at each other, not saying a word. I couldn't help thinking how much I liked her, how strangely I didn't feel scared by how little we knew about each other when I was looking in her eyes. My thoughts consumed me, until finally heard myself speak up.

"God you're beautiful", I whispered. She shook her head sadly.

"I'm really nothing special", she replied, equally as quietly. I frowned. The devastating part was, she sounded sincere. She truly believed that she wasn't as amazingly beautiful as I knew her to be.

"Avery, you have to believe me when I say that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever had the fortune to lay eyes on", I said softly. I watched as her face tinged pink, eyes never leaving mine before pleading, "Even if you don't believe in your eyes, trust mine. You. Are. Beautiful".

I saw as her eyes became wet, though no tears fell onto her rosy cheeks. She turned away from me, blocking anymore of her face from my vision before speaking.

"I, uhm, better g-get Amelia", her voice cracked out. "She s-should be up by now". She quickly headed upstairs, under the pretense of grabbing Amelia, but I was fairly certain she'd been crying when she'd left. The question was, why? I didn't have time to ponder why for long, because just as her form disappeared from the kitchen I heard a small voice from the doorway to the living room.

"Spencer? Why is Avery sad?" I turned to see a very sleepy Jack Hotchner ask, leaning on the doorframe. I frowned and turned back to where Avery had been just moments before, saying quietly,

"I don't know buddy. I really don't".

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Shortly after Jack awoke, Henry did as well. Both groggy, they'd told me they were 'starving', and I'd given them some of the frozen pizza that Avery had cooked for them. They seemed happy with that, excitedly chatting about their favorite games and other things. They really were quite amusing to listen to; they just said whatever was on their minds, no matter how ridiculous.

Eventually Avery came down the stairs with Amelia, looking and acting as if she'd never been sad for a moment. I wondered what had made her so emotional so suddenly, and also how she'd managed to completely bounce back in the time it took her to change Amelia. I wondered all the way to the BAU, where I took them to deliver our baked goods to their respective owners. Had I offended her? Did I step too far for someone she'd just met? I longed to ask her, if only to ease my troubled conscience-I didn't like that I'd seemingly caused her pain, no matter how unconsciously. However with the rush to feed Amelia and the boys, wrap the cakes, and make it to the office before Hotch and Rossi left I couldn't find a second alone with her. I decided to try and get her alone after everyone was preoccupied with the cakes and apologize.

First, we walked into Rossi's office to bring his cake and then headed over to Hotch's office to deliver his cupcakes. Avery and Amelia stayed behind to talk to Rossi more privately for a moment, but waved the boys and I over to Hotch's office, saying she'd meet us there.

When I stepped into Hotch's office I wasn't prepared for the boys' noisy greetings.

"DADDY!" Jack yelled at the same time as Henry screamed "ARROW!" I jumped a little at their sudden enthusiasm, as did Hotch and JJ, who were near his desk discussing something. Hotch's face broke out into a smile before he hugged his son and nephew who excitedly began explaining all about their day. He patiently listened for a while before he turned to me for clarity.

"In the spirit of making Rossi a cake, the boys and Avery also made you some cupcakes", I explained, holding up the plate. He nodded curtly at me before returning his attention back to the boys. I furrowed my brow a bit before I set the plate down on his desk. Hotch wasn't usually this tense, which was saying something because Hotch was always tense. Just not this bad, and usually not at me.

"That sounds great boys. Hey JJ, do you think the boys would like to see where the break room is? You guys can bring the cupcakes in there, and maybe JJ will be nice enough to let you have one", Hotch said to the now ecstatic boys. JJ just smiled and ushered them out of the room, and I turned to follow them.

"Reid. Can you come in here a minute? And close the door", Hotch said from behind me. I frowned, but did what he asked. After closing the door, I turned to him with a questioning look, placing my hands in my pockets.

"Spencer I need to speak with you", he started. He looked oddly nervous. He still had a serious face, but then when he didn't. I really couldn't imagine what he needed to say to me, so I nodded, hoping he would continue.

"I need to speak with you about Avery", he said finally. I felt the color drain from my face as my stomach dropped. This certainly wasn't what I was expecting.

**Authors Note: Oooooh what will Hotch say to Reid? Good news, bad news? What do y'all think? Let me know, leave a review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Hey guys! So bear with me, this chapter is sort of a filler, just to establish some clarity for some of the character's feelings and emotions as of right now. I promise the chapter after this will be longer, and better and have some serious Garcia/Avery time. So review this chapter and let me know what you think!**

**Oh and I don't own Criminal Minds, Doctor Who, or any characters from any of those shows!**

Chapter 12

Hotch's POV:

All morning I'd thought long and hard during my meeting (not really paying attention to too much else) about what I wanted to say. I agonized, dreading the conversation. I'd figured there were basically two ways it could go. On the one hand, I could tell Reid that it was completely inappropriate for him to ever consider pursuing a relationship with Avery. In truth, I liked that plan for the simple fact that it would work; there was no way that Reid would ever consider even really speaking to Avery after that. Their conversations were already getting too personal for my liking. Even though they'd only known each other for a day, I'd seen that things were moving too fast with them; it was only a matter of time before they made a step forward. The thought alone terrified me. I just got Avery back, I wasn't about to let her be swept away by someone else. However I liked Reid, and I was certain that type of confrontation would not only make things awkward between us and the team, but it would hurt him as well. I liked Reid, I didn't want to hurt him.

On the other hand, I could tell Reid that I'd saw the way he looked at Avery, and that I was okay with it. In that case I'd also have to give the fatherly 'if you hurt her, I hurt you' speech; which I admittedly had always wanted to give. Before Haley and I had found out that we were going to be having a boy I'd imagined intimidating my daughter's future suitor; no one could manage a scary face like I could, and I knew it. I'm sure that would be completely effective in keeping Reid in line, but it wasn't a conversation I was sure I wanted to have with Reid.

The truth of what I wanted lied somewhere in the middle. As much as I didn't want Avery to be distracted from our family by any man, I also realized that I really didn't have a say in that area of her life. If she were going to be involved with a man, why not Reid? Reid was about as innocent and sweet as a person could be; maybe he was the lesser evil in this situation.

Spencer looked, to put things mildly, flustered. As I explained what we were going to be talking about her, his eyes got wide and he turned pale. I indicated that he should sit in one of the chairs in front of my desk, and he shakingly made his way over. As he sat, I noted that he was biting his nails more than usual. I softened a little bit, knowing that he was just as anxious (maybe even more anxious) than me.

"Reid, calm down. I'm not angry", I said gently. It was the truth. I was confused, apprehensive but not angry. He seemed only slightly placated by this; he stopped biting his nails, but the color had not yet returned to his face. "I just want to speak to you about Avery. I know it's maybe a bit premature, but I just want things to be clear".

"Okay", he said nodding and clearing his throat. He looked down, then looked up with an expression I knew well. It was the face he often made in the field. The face made when he was preparing himself for bad news, for something he didn't want to hear. I felt a little sick at the realization that it was being directed towards me. I nervously cleared my throat as well.

"Reid. I see the way that you guys interact. It doesn't take a profiler to see that you guys are…interested in each other", I ground out. We both awkwardly shifted in our chairs; this really wasn't a conversation either of us wanted to be having. "I wanted to let you know that, as far as I'm concerned, that it's alright. I'm not going to interfere with whatever happens. I may be your boss, but that's not my job". Reid let out a long breath that I hadn't known he was holding. Most of the color returned to his features, and I leaned back, satisfied that he was relieved.

"I want you to know however, that though as your boss it's not my job to interfere with your personal relationships it is definitely my place as Avery's uncle", I continued firmly. "And we both know, I'm not just her uncle. And she's got a lot going on right now, and as her uncle I also want to be sure that you two aren't going to jump into anything right now. Because if the last two days are any indication, you two will. Not that I have any serious reservations about that, but I need you to understand what her life is like right now and please try to take things more slowly". His face seemed to pale, then flush, but he nodded anyways. I appreciated his solemnness about this, he really did seem to be serious about Avery.

"Understood", he replied. Though I could tell he was still nervous, he looked me directly in the eyes. I nodded as well.

"Good. Now let's get back to the rest of the team. They're prepared for a lot of things, but two kids on a sugar rush? Not exactly their area of expertise", I chuckled, standing up. Reid managed to crack a small smile as he stood up as well, and I clapped a hand on his back as we headed to the door, but I frowned, feeling as if I'd forgotten something. Suddenly I remembered, stopping dead in my tracks and smirking. I still had to give Reid my fatherly warning. As he opened the door to my office, he gave me a questioning look. Smirk firmly in place, I walked past him and started down the stairs. That conversation could wait for another day, and I'd be damned if I wasn't excited for that day.

Spencer's POV:

As Hotch and I walked to the break room I couldn't help but try to internally slow my thoughts and my heartbeat, which were both racing a mile a minute. I knew that I was eventually going to have to face Hotch, but I had never expected for things to happen so soon. Nor had I ever expected things to go quite so…smoothly. Not only had Hotch admitted that he basically had no problem with Avery and I as my team leader, but he'd also seemingly said that he had no problem with Avery and I as her surrogate father. The thought alone was baffling, but also extremely relieving. It didn't mean anything had changed between Avery and I, but in a strange way I felt like it definitely had. I felt like I could be able to pursue however it was I was feeling without reservations. The amount of stress that I'd felt before our talk had been unnerving, and now I felt like I could breathe freely again. The simple knowledge that I was free from the pressure Hotch's disapproval was completely liberating.

Did this mean that anything had changed between Avery and I? I mean I was sure of my feelings, but they were the exact same feelings that I'd felt yesterday and this morning. The entire time I'd known Avery I'd always harbored strong feelings for her; Hotch had made it seem as though I was going to have a relationship with Avery, and every time he'd alluded to such a relationship I'd felt my heart lift and flutter. Clearly I felt strongly enough for Avery to want a relationship, but did she? Hotch was right, there was a lot changing in her life right now, why should I even consider a relationship with her right now? Was that what I was even doing? I'd only known her for a short time, it did seem too fast to even give a shadow of possibility of a relationship.

It seemed as though my conversation with Hotch had brought me more questions than it did answers. Although my thoughts were still racing, my heart had seemingly calmed down to a normal rate before we entered the break room. Inside, to my amusement, we indeed had found the two boys in what seemed to be the height of a sugar rush. The boys were running around the various tables, with chocolate all over their faces, yelling about screwdrivers and telephone boxes. I chuckled and smiled for the first time since my talk with Hotch; Henry had clearly taught Jack about the Doctor. The boys finally rounded the table closest to the door, and immediately ran into Hotch and I. They looked up at us, with sheepish expressions dominating their small faces.

"Sorry Arrow, sorry Spencer", Henry said. The look on his face told me that he was genuinely sorry for running into his uncle and I; he was such a sweet kid. Avery was a lucky girl to have such a good boy.

"Daddy! Henry was telling my all about the Doctor and we were playing and I guess I was the alien and Henry he almost, he almost got me but...", Jack babbled incessantly to his father. One thing was certain, Jack hadn't inherited Hotch's knack for silence. While he was babbling to his father, who was listening with rapt amusement, Henry turned to me.

"Spencer will you play Doctor Who with us? You can be the Doctor cause you met him", he said with a hopeful expression. I laughed at him, his chocolate covered face and earnest expression practically made my decision for me. How could I resist?

"Course I will Henry", I said, kneeling down to his level. "But how about we wash your face first? You look like the cupcake may have missed your mouth entirely". At this, he giggled and I heard a different, more melodic giggle from behind me. I turned to see Avery and Rossi standing in the doorway, Rossi holding Amelia. One look at the smile dominating Avery's beautiful face was enough to make my stomach erupt in butterflies.

So much for slowing down my heartbeat.

I straightened up, facing Avery, and smiled back at her. She came over to where we stood, and placed herself quite close to me, our arms touching.

"He's right Hen, did any of that cupcake make its way into your lil tummy?" she questioned him as I tried, in vain to control my heart. It was beating so loudly, I was sure that everyone in the room could hear it. Henry giggled, along with Avery and I, as he nodded his small face.

"Based on the way they were running around before I'd say he definitely got some sugar in him", I managed to say, despite feeling breathless at the way Avery stood so close to me. Granted, she'd stood much closer to me this morning, but it appeared I'd never really get used to her presence in close proximity. I wasn't sure I even wanted to. But as I watched the way that Avery joked around with her brother while she took care of his messy face, I was sure that Hotch was right; I definitely wanted a relationship with Avery. I didn't know when, or how, or even if anything would happen, but in this particular moment I was convinced that I was willing to do almost anything to try to make it work.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: As promised here's the next chapter, heavily Avery/Garcia centric. But never fear, there's still some Avery/ Spencer fluff! Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know with a review :) **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Criminal Minds!**

Chapter 13

Avery's POV:

"Bu-bye Caleb! I'll see you tomorrow!" I said brightly, waving to my last child as he walked out with his mother. I started to clean the toys Caleb and I had been playing with as quickly as I could. Ordinarily I would have slowed down and taken my time, but I knew that Garcia was either on her way or already waiting up front for me and I didn't want to keep her waiting too long. Luckily, my kids were already gone; JJ and I had worked out a system for the kids' pickups over the weekend. Every morning, JJ came to pick up my small family to drop us off along with Henry, and leave the car seats for everyone up front. This way whoever was available to pick me up could just take all three of our kids. It was a pretty good system, but soon we'd need to add one more car seat to the list, as Jack was starting at the center next week. It took very little convincing from me to my boss to get him a spot; I was admittedly the best assistant teacher there, and she (along with most of my coworkers) would do just about anything for me. Tonight JJ had picked up my kids, bringing them her house for a playdate until Arrow could pick them up.

As I cleaned up the rest of the toys, I couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of sadness at the realization that my normal pickup routine wouldn't happen. Usually Spencer was the one designated to pick the kids and I up every day, and I would be a liar if I said I wasn't going to miss our daily chat. We never really ran out of things to say to each other, and I found myself falling harder and harder for him with each day. I'd thought I'd had it bad when we first met, but it was nothing compared to the level of attraction I felt towards him now.

Finishing my task, I grabbed my bag, and turned to shut off the light when I saw Garcia standing near the door looking around my room with fascination. I smiled and headed over in her direction.

"Hey, I was just on my out to look for you, sorry it took so long. Caleb's always the last one out, like clockwork always at 5:55", I apologized. She waved her hand, as if to indicate that it was no big thing.

"Don't worry about it!" she said, confirming her wave. "So this is where you work huh? What sort of rainbow bright color is this room named after?" I giggled.

"This is one of the classrooms I work in, this is the Green Room. It's for our young two-year olds, toddlers who aren't ready for potty training yet", I explained as we walked out of the room.

"One of?" Penelope questioned. As we passed the larger, more open classroom in the front of the center I pointed it out to her.

"This is the other classroom I work in. It's called the Purple Room, and it's for our little baby friends that are too small to walk yet. I work in there in the mornings, and switch to the Green Room after lunch", I explained. Garcia smiled and made one of those 'awww' sounds as we walked into the front of the center. I grinned at her as I checked out on the computer we kept up on the front desk, but frowned as I looked around. Usually my boss was here late, finishing paperwork or schedules, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Garcia how did you get in here", I asked confused. You needed a key fob to get into the center, and even if you had one you needed a special fob to get in after 6:00. Surely someone had to have let her in, and she would have had shown ID to make it past the front door.

"Oh that nice woman with the short hair let me in. I showed her my credentials, and then she started raving about you. How it was so nice that you were going to finally get out, and what a wonderful girl you were. Naturally I talked to her for a long while about you and your amazing attributes, and then she said she had to run out and that you should lock up", Garcia explained. "So you must be a pretty good assistant, cause I don't think she'd let just anyone lock up her business for her. Kudos!"

I laughed at Penelope's play by play, and motioned for her to follow as I locked the center. Spencer or no Spencer, this was going to be a fun night.

SPECNERAVERYSPECERAVERYSPENCERAVERYSPENCERAVERYSPENCERAVERYSPENCERAVERY

"No way, you cannot buy that", I laughed as I tore a now very unhappy Penelope away from a very, uhm, bright looking sweater in a display window. It had a series of puppies set in rhinestones all over the bright fabric, which was practically neon. It screamed 'Garcia', but I couldn't let her buy it in good conscious. I giggled at her child-like pout and dragged her onward through the semi-crowded mall.

"But it was so bright and fabulous", she complained. I gave her my 'no-nonsense' look I often gave my toddlers when they were eyeing another kid's toy, and she rolled her eyes at me. "Fine, fine. But can we at least stop for some food in the food court? I'm starvinggg", she complained finally, dragging me in the direction of the food lines. I smiled at her, and agreed. As we sat in line for some sandwich shop and I listened to Penelope chatter on about that sweater's potential I couldn't help but smile. We'd been shopping together for a few hours, and I was so glad I'd agreed to come. Penelope was a great person, and we'd really connected as friends in the time we'd spent together. She lost her parent early like me, and she was really sweet and funny. I really loved her sunny disposition, and being around her just made me feel calm.

"Avery. Avery, it's your turn", she said, breaking my thoughts and nudging me gently. I realized she'd already ordered her food, and now it was my turn. I smiled at the teenage boy behind the counter, who looked extremely flustered.

"I'll just have a large Diet Coke", I said, handing him the money. It was my cop-out; I still didn't want to eat in public, and people wouldn't think anything was really off if I was drinking something. And since Diet Coke didn't have any caloric value, I didn't feel bad having it anyways. Garcia frowned as the kid handed us our orders and we looked for a table. "What's with the frown?" I asked, already pretty certain of what her answer would be.

"We've been shopping for hours, you worked a full day before this, and you aren't even a little bit hungry?" she questioned suspiciously. I kept my face blank, and merely shrugged in return.

"Nah I'm more thirsty than anything else. I had a really big lunch today", I explained coolly. Which was not technically a lie; I had eaten lunch at work today, I just wasn't willing to admit how hungry I was now. Although having to try on outfit after outfit had significantly decreased my desire to eat in all honesty. Penelope eyed me with disbelief as we sat down at an empty table.

"Yeah but I thought you had to eat your meals in the same proportions as your class did, you did say that didn't you?" she questioned. Damn. I had told her that. I shrugged once more, forcing a smirk onto my face.

"Yeah I do, but today I decided to sneak some extras. It was breakfast for lunch, my favorite", I replied. She didn't seem convinced, so I decided to change the subject quickly. "So about this party, what day were you thinking?" This seemed to work, she brightened significantly as she started speaking.

"Well the team doesn't have anything planned for Saturday afternoon, and I thought we could do it then", she explained. I nodded, relieved we'd finally switch subjects so soon. She and I chatted for a while about Saturday, her eating her sub and me sipping my pop. It was comfortable and friendly, and I was feeling very relaxed as we decided on some minor details. Suddenly I felt my phone buzz inside my pocket, and I curiously pulled it out. Usually the only people who texted me were coworkers wondering if I could take their shifts for them, or my friend Laura from work sending funny pictures of her son Kayden. I was overjoyed to find that it was none of those people.

"Well sunshine who just made your night?" Penelope asked, leaning over my shoulder to peer at my phone.

"It's Spencer", I answered, beaming. She grinned as well.

"Oooooo and what does our boy wonder have to say on this wonderful evening? Did he finally propose?" she joked good-naturedly, elbowing me a little. (**Note: Spencer's texts will be in **_italics_** and Avery's will be in **_underlined italics_)

"'_It was all kinds of strange not seeing you and the kids after school today. Now who will explain the ins and outs of daycare gossip to me?_'" I recited from my small screen, smiling wider at hearing the words aloud. The way Spencer really cared about my trivial life and the way he could so accurately match my feelings so perfectly was still a wonder to me. Penelope made another one of those 'awwwww' noises, and scooted her chair closer to mine.

"I always knew you guys were made for each other. What are you gonna answer back with?" she questioned. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't manage to stop smiling long enough to really seem sassy.

"Oh you 'always knew' huh? The whole 5 days we've known each other?" I teased. She gave me an exasperated look. I giggled. "No need for you to know everything about Spencer and I's non-relationship. Get back to your side of the table Penpen". She frowned at me before sliding back to her side of the table.

"Whatever Cupcake, I can just read your texts later anyways. And who are you kidding? Non-relationship", she scoffed. I just laughed at her, and quickly typed back a reply.

'_I missed seeing you more than I thought. And it really is a shame I didn't get to share, one girl even got fired today!'_

"You know sweetheart, I think you're gorgeous, and so does Reid. And you can tell us anything", Penelope said softly, giving me a strange look. I furrowed my brow in confusion as my face flushed with a pink color. I didn't like where this was headed.

"I guess, but why do you say that?" I questioned softly, ignoring the new text message I'd just received. Penelope looked at me sympathetically.

"I say that because I know how you feel Avery. I know how it feels to not feel comfortable in your own skin, how it feels like everyone's eyes on you all the time, and most importantly I know how it feels like you need to hide everything from everyone. And I know that you probably won't share with any of us, at least not yet. And that's understandable, and totally okay, but I'm just saying that you should know how beautiful and special and incredible you are", she said quickly. "You're such a wonderful girl and I just wanted you to know, when and if you do want to talk, about anything, I'm here".

"Thank you Pen", I said gratefully, eyes threatening to tear up. I'd thought we'd strayed from the subject, but clearly Garcia was more perceptive than I thought. I appreciated her effort, I really did, but I didn't want to talk to anyone about this, not yet. She smiled in understanding, and quickly stood up.

"Alright sweet cheeks, I think its way past my bedtime. Whaddya say we head on home? Something tells me you have a boy genius to talk to anyways", she said smirking. I blushed and looked at my phone sheepishly. "Don't worry darling I won't really read your messages…probably", she said walking away. I frowned. She was kidding, right?

I spent the ride home chatting with Garcia about what we'd bought tonight, and also texting Spencer. After we'd sat in Garcia's car, I finally looked at the messaged he'd sent.

'_Fired? What on Earth did she do?'_

_'__She fell asleep during naptime for the second day in a row. Seriously, who falls asleep watching kids? X( '_, Unfortunately this was true, I'd walked in after my break to find my only other staff was asleep in my room. To say I was pissed off was an understatement.

_ '__It sounds comical if you get past the general irresponsibility of it all' _

_'__Mmm I suppose so. How was your day? Catch any bad guys?'_

_ '__Unfortunately not. But I did read 2 books on child development today; I was thinking of you', _my heart fluttered at his admission. He really thought about me today?

_'__Oh really? Is it safe for me to assume you know more about kids than me now? :) Maybe you could teach me a few things'__, _I answered, flirting a little just because of his 'thinking of you' comment. Flirting had become natural, easy for us over the past few days. Unfortunately, that was all we'd done was flirt.

_'__On the contrary dear, I just have a clear understanding on how their psyche develops. Put me in front of a diaper and I would be completely lost'_, smiling at his use of the word dear I replied quickly.

_'__Bless my soul, I think I've found Spencer Reid's fatal flaw. Can't change a diaper, how typically male'_

_ '__I blame only child syndrome. Did you have fun with Garcia tonight?'_

_'__Yes of course I did! She took me out of my house, and shopping. She's pretty much my favorite FBI friend right now'_

_ '__Hmmm'_

_'__What?'_

_ '__Nothing, I was just under the impression that I was your favorite BAU member'_

_'__Spence you hold the top spot always. Penelope is just a close second :)'_

_ '__Really?'_

_ '__Really really :)'_

_ '__Reading that just made me really happy'_, my heart fluttered. I'd made him happy.

"What says our boy wonder tonight?" Penelope questioned as we pulled up to our house. I smiled.

"Oh just talking about one of my stupid coworkers, you know, talking about life. That's all", I generalized. She smiled knowingly.

"Uh huh. Sure angel", she laughed. "Well m'lady this looks a lot like your house to me, so I will bid you adieu. See you around!" She leaned in and gave me a hug, before I smiled and opened the door.

"Bu bye Pen! See you Saturday", I called as I closed the door and headed into the house. As I climbed the steps, a white envelope on the ground nearby caught my attention. Curious, I picked it up and saw it was addressed to me. After locking the front door, I ripped the envelope open, quickly scanning the note. As I read my eyes widened in fear and shock, and I felt myself reach for somewhere to sit. Leaning against the door, I read the note over and over again, trying to convince myself that it wasn't real. Not wanting to wake the sleeping members of my family I did the only thing I could think of. I shakily pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Spencer. He answered after only two rings.

"Hello? Avery?" he said.

" S-Spencer? I n-need your help", I said, trying and failing to keep my voice strong.

"Avery? What is it? What's wrong?" he asked quickly. I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my shaking body before answering.

"H-he, he left me a note. He… oh God. He knows where I live. The guy who killed Sam, h-he knows where I am".

**Author's Note: UhOh. Unsub after Avery? Will Spencer protect her? Review for faster updates!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: So this is my favorite chapter to have written. By far. And it's also the longest one I've ever written. I really hope you guys like the direction I've taken her, I have a feeling you will! Reviewers get my unconditional love and thanks!  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of it's characters!<strong>

Chapter 14

Avery's POV:

As I sat watching the BAU team working in the conference room, I reflected on the rather disturbing night I'd had. After I called Spencer, he calmed me down over the phone as he drove over. He'd told me to wake Arrow up and explain what I'd found. I did as he said, and Arrow snapped into what I had now dubbed as his 'FBI intensity'. To say he was livid would be an understatement. Within the hour, the entire BAU team had gathered at my house. I thought it'd had to do with their job, catching the man who'd left me the letter, but I quickly gathered that their motivations may not have been entirely professional. They seemed ready to stay up all night, and the fact that they all came (Garcia included), had showed me that. Penelope had set up a temporary lab station at our dining room table, and the rest of the team had poured over the letter.

Watching them work, I remember beginning to feel panicked, and running upstairs to check on my kids. Even though upon my arrival, Arrow had assured me that they were safe I didn't care; I had to be sure. After checking on the boys, giving each of them a kiss on their sleeping foreheads I moved to Amelia. I stood there watching her even breathing for what felt like forever. Not even watching her sleep could cure the panic and troubled thoughts that swirled in my mind. After kissing her on her forehead, I'd headed back down to the family room and sat on the couch. I'd spent the better part of my night answering questions about anything and everything that could possibly pertain to the unsub or the letter he'd left. Eventually, Spencer had wandered out to where I was and stayed with me as the others worked. We'd sat much like we had earlier that week when we were watching the movie with the boys, except this time I'd given up all social conventions and simply laid in his lap. I'll never forget how gently he'd ran his hands through my tangled hair, speaking soothing words until I fell into an unavoidable sleep. I was restless though, and woke frequently and suddenly. Each time I'd woken, Spencer was still there to calm my frantic body and mind. I smiled, thinking of his tender treatment of me, and the way he'd refused to leave my side.

Eventually the team decided they needed to return to the BAU to really get some more work done, and they'd all insisted that the kids and I came with. Arrow had demanded that I call in to work for the rest of the week. I'd weakly agreed. I hadn't really called in to work, sick or otherwise, so my boss readily agree to give me the time off.

Presently, I sat in the BAU with the boys contentedly coloring next to me. I was feeding Amelia her dinner bottle; we'd been here all day. Currently Morgan sat with us, but the team had been switching in and out of our room all day. Naturally, my favorite parts of the day had been when Spencer had come in to sit with us. Somehow the letter had fundamentally changed something about our relationship; certainly we were no longer shy about touching each other. Every time it was his turn to spend time with us, he sat as close as possible to me, often holding my hand in his own. By the end of the day, I was melting into his touch like I'd known him my whole life. Needless to say though, no matter how much time I'd gotten to spend with him, I was eager to go home. The kids had been team players all day, using the BAU as their own playground, but I was running out of ideas to placate their constant need for stimulation. I turned to Morgan.

"Any chance we could go home soon? I'm running out of things to do, and the kids are going to get restless soon", I admitted. He looked at me sympathetically.

"I know how hard this has been on you mama, and you've been doing incredible", he said. I scoffed, and he shook his head before continuing. "You may not believe it, but you are. Now I've seen a lot of women go through exactly what you're going through, and they've all broken down, screaming and crying. Lashing out and hindering things. You've been emotional, sure, how could you not be? But you've aided our investigation at every turn, played your own role in your case. That takes a very strong person", he said. I smiled at him, and leaned forward in my chair to give him a hug. He wrapped me in his strong arms, and I felt protected and safe. As I pulled away, I said my thanks. He nodded and said he'd see what he could do about getting us home.

I turned my attention back to Amelia's bottle, until I felt a presence behind me. Soon Spencer was the one in sitting in front of me, not Morgan. I grinned at him, and he smiled back fondly. I swear I could look into his eyes all day and never get tired of them.

"So I, ah, hear that you want to go home", he said finally. I nodded and gestured to the boys, who had long since turned their focus to some of the toys we'd brought along.

"Hard to keep them entertained for long, and they both skipped naps today, so I think some time at home would be the best thing for them right now", I said. This time he nodded. I finished burping Amelia, and set her on the floor with the boys. She started doing her odd little wiggly thing instead of crawling, and I couldn't help but laugh at her before turning my attention back to Spencer. Spencer too, was smiling at her, and I couldn't help but shift my chair closer to his. He registered that I was now closer, and grabbed my hand, looking up at me smiling.

"I think Morgan is up there right now convincing Hotch that it's alright for you to go, though I'm sure that one or more of us will have to join you", he said. I nodded, but it was hard for me to grasp what he'd said right away while he was absentmindedly rubbing circles into my knuckles like he was.

"Are you coming with us?" I asked hopefully. The guilty look on his face told me he wouldn't be, which was disappointing. I felt safe with all of the team, but I felt the most at peace when Spencer was around. It'd been a tiring day keeping the boys entertained and answering questions; all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch with Spencer and watch a Disney movie to restore my faith in happy endings.

"Actually they need me to analyze the handwriting on the note. I have a background in graphology, and I'm sure I can add to our profile with some information from the handwriting", he said regretfully. I smiled wider at him, shaking my head a little in disbelief. Was there anything Spencer Reid couldn't do?

"That's okay, whatever you could do to help, I really truly appreciate", I said genuinely. "I appreciate what all of you are doing for me. For us" I amended gesturing to the kids on the floor.

"Avery I…we're going to do anything and everything to find this man. He messed with the wrong girl", he replied strongly, squeezing my hand gently. I squeezed back.

"I know Spence. I trust you", I said. He smiled widely and we watched the kids in a companionable silence until Morgan re-entered the room.

"Alright mama, pack up your stuff, I'm taking y'all home", Morgan said. The boys cheered, and began piling up their toys. Spencer stood up, and I followed suit. He turned to me, and gave me a small half smile that I returned. He turned like he was going to leave, but suddenly turned around and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I was surprised at first, but relaxed into the hug, eventually wrapping my arms around him neck and holding him just as tightly.

"Happy birthday by the way", he said quietly into my ear. I felt my face split into a huge grin; leave it to Spencer to be the only one to remember that today was my birthday. To be honest, I'd even forgotten all about it. But Spencer and his wonderful brain had remembered. I was head over heels for this guy, I just didn't know how to tell him.

We separated finally, and he gave a small wave before exiting. Smiling like an idiot I helped the boys gather their things. When we were finished, I turned to Morgan. He was leaning against the doorframe, smirking. I shrugged at him as if I had no idea why he was looking at me like that. We all walked out the door and I heard him chuckle. Ignoring him, we loaded everyone into the car and headed for home. As we passed by different now familiar buildings and houses that not even a week ago had seemed strange, a sudden question nagged at my mind. Deciding to ask Morgan, I spoke up.

"Hey, Morgan. Do you know if there are any churches around here? Like a Christian churches?" I asked. He turned to look at me for a second before returning his eyes to the road. I couldn't quite place his look, but something about it was off.

"Yeah there's a few. Why? Thinking of attending?" he said finally.

"Yeah I was. Do you go?" I asked. I saw his jaw tighten and his hand grip the wheel a little tighter. I got the sense that I'd struck some sort of nerve with him. As we pulled up in front of the house he turned to me and gave me another one of those looks, only this one looked conflicted.

"I haven't in a long time", he answered. "I've been thinking about going lately, but haven't been able to get myself to go". I nodded in understanding as he turned away.

"I haven't been able to go in a long time either", I admitted. He looked up at me as I spoke. "I'll go if you go?" He shook his head.

"Ever feel like you've been abandoned? Like God's turned the other way and just let you suffer?" He asked, looking out the window. I placed a hand on his arm, willing him to look at me. When he did, I spoke.

"Trust me Derek, I've felt that way before. Lots of times. But I've finally come to the realization that God truly doesn't give us things we can't handle", when he scoffed, I continued faster. "I mean I wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world, nor would I want anyone else to lead my life. I'm perfectly suited to lead the life that I've led, and I'm confident that no one else could do it as well as I do. God made me to live this life because he knows that I can take it". I saw Derek's face soften, and deciding I'd gotten through to him I went for one last question. "Would you want anyone to lead the life you've led? Could anyone cope as well as you?"

He didn't answer for a while, but he looked at me with that same strange look. Eventually he straightened up and turned his eyes out the window again.

"We should get out of the car now, it's not safe to be sitting in here as long as we have been", he said after a while. "You grab Amelia, I've got the boys". He left the car before I could answer, and I felt guilty. Clearly I'd offended him in some way, which had never been my intent. I just wanted to know what churches the kids and I could start attending, but I'd ended up offending one of the people I'd come to trust most since moving in with Arrow.

Once we got into the house and go the kids fed and settled into quietly watching a movie, I pulled Morgan aside to speak with him.

"Morgan I'm so, so sorry if I offended you earlier. Truly I just wanted to know if there were any churches nearby, and then you asked what I thought, so I told you—"my babbling was soon cut short by Morgan raising his hand.

"Avery. You didn't offend me before. In fact you were right, about all of it", he said. My shock must have been written all over my face, because he chuckled before continuing. "Yeah I know I didn't react well, but I was just having a rough time accepting that you managed to put into words the way that I'd been feeling for the last few months. You really are something", he said bumping my shoulder with his. I relaxed some.

"You have no idea how incredibly relieved that makes me feel", I said honestly. Seriously, what would I have done if I'd managed to piss off one of the people growing closest to me? That would have really sucked. He smiled at me.

"Yeah I know I didn't really react as well as I should have. And for that I'm sorry. But hey, no hard feelings right mama?" he said.

"Right", I answered, smiling back at him. Not for the first time today, I yawned. I looked at Morgan and asked, "Would you like some coffee? I know I could use some more". When he nodded in the affirmative, I busied myself setting the coffee pot and finding coffee mugs for each of us. For a long while we just sat at the kitchen table, sipping our coffee and talking about anything and everything. He told me about his father, about his childhood and I patiently listened as he explained his whole life story. I offered my ear, and my comfort when necessary. In turn he did the same to me. I told him everything about what'd happened to me, telling him even more than I had to Arrow or Penelope. I even clued him in to the eating disorder I'd struggled with for so long; I hadn't even gotten around to telling Spencer about that yet. Not that I was going to keep that from him, but I just hadn't found the right time to tell him yet. And to be honest, I didn't want Spencer to think less of me. I'd felt it in my gut that that wouldn't happen with Morgan. Something about Derek made me feel safe and protected. Like he could truly understand everything about me, and be trusted to keep my secrets quiet. It wasn't exactly like the way I felt around Spencer, not quite as effortless, but it was a close second. Derek Morgan was steadily becoming the older brother I'd never had, which made sense considering he had sisters close to my age.

After some time, we heard a knock on the door, and we both sat straight up in our seats. Derek motioned for me to stay where I was as he headed for the door. I rolled my eyes as I thought 'yeah right' and headed for the door anyways. By the time I got there I saw a very wet looking Spencer in the doorway behind a smirking Derek. One glance outside clued me into the fact that it was indeed pouring out, something that I'd apparently overlooked throughout our discussion. I frowned at Morgan.

"Derek don't be a dick, let him in before he gets struck by lightning or something!" I exclaimed, pulling Spencer in by his arm as Morgan raised his arms in surrender.

"Don't blame me mama, I'm pretty sure that the chances of him being struck by lightning are 1 in a million", he said smiling and patting Spencer on the back.

"Actually for the D.C. area the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 617,996", Spencer said matter of factly. I smiled, loving how smart he was. Derek just shook his head and crossed his arms.

"You and that brain of yours", Derek said fondly, messing up Spencer's already messy, dripping hair. I frowned and punched his arm lightly.

"Hey now. I happen to like that brain", I said crossly. I noted with satisfaction that Spencer's face tinged pink at my admission, as did Morgan. He chuckled and once again raised his hands in surrender. Placated, I turned my attention to Spencer. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your lovely brain in my home?" I asked sweetly.

"The, uh, rest of the team wants Morgan to help with the next phase of the investigation, and I was done with the graphology so we decided I should come stay with you while Morgan leaves", he explained nervously. It was adorable that he was still nervous, as if I'd ever turn away his company.

"Great!" I said brightly. "I'll go grab you some of Arrow's clothes, no need for you to catch cold" I finished, running up the stairs. I was excited; finally Spencer and I could be alone, no kids, no team members. Just me and him.

Today wasn't so bad after all.

Spencer's POV:

As Avery ran up the stairs I turned back to a smirking Morgan.

"What?" I questioned, guessing what he was going to say already.

"Don't you what me kid. You know what. What could they possibly need me for in the profile that you couldn't have done yourself? Unless we have a face or a name, I'm not an essential part of this right now. So either you really don't want to help out back at the BAU, which I highly doubt, or you really want to be here for some reason", I looked down sheepishly, confirming his accusation. His smirk widened. "Ahhh, so you do want to be here, huh kid? Now why could that possibly be? Hmm?"

I looked at him with annoyance. He was purposefully pushing my buttons because he knew he could. "You know why Morgan. I want to spend time with Avery", I said. This seemed to only widen his ever present smirk.

"I know", he said, grinning. "I just wanted to hear you say it".

Avery soon bounced down the stairs, a pile of clothes in her hands. She handed them to me and ordered me to go change. I smiled at her; she was so adorable, trying to take care of everyone. She practically oozed affection for nearly everyone she met, and easily won them over with her genuine love for them. Look at the team, less than a week and she had all of us (especially me) wrapped around her pinky finger. And no one seemed to even mind.

"Yes ma'am", I mocked playfully. I nodded at Morgan as a means of saying goodbye, and he returned the action.

"See you round Reid. Av, I'll pick you and the kids up for church on Sunday, alright?" he said, hugging her and walking out the door. I frowned a little before heading to the bathroom to change. There was a familiarity between Avery and Morgan that there hadn't been before, and I wasn't sure I liked it. Surely there was no way Avery felt for Morgan what I was fairly certain she felt for me, right? Perhaps they'd bonded in another way, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more between them. Morgan was obviously better looking than I was; he had no trouble talking to women either. Maybe Avery had seen something in him that she preferred.

No. There was no way, I told myself as I walked out in the fresh clothes. Morgan was way too old for Avery, and he would never hurt me like that. At least that's what I told myself. Truth was I had no real way of getting to an answer, other than to ask her. I'd decided to ask her as I walked into the living room, but before I could say anything Avery motioned for me to stay silent by pressing her index finger to her lips. She motioned to the sleeping boys on the couch, and indicated that we should bring them upstairs. I nodded, and we each carefully picked up a boy, and quietly carried them up the stairs to place them in their beds. After silently pressing a kiss to each sleeping boy's forehead, Avery shut the door and we headed back down the stairs.

Once downstairs, Avery spoke up. "Derek and I were just having some coffee, I bet there some left. I'm going to have another cup, would you like one too?" Man I liked this girl. How could she possibly know that coffee was my weakness? I nodded eagerly, and followed her into the kitchen. After placing Morgan's cup in the sink, she took out another one, presumably for me. She filled each cup, then slid me some sugar and cream that had been left on the counter.

"I don't know how you take your coffee" she said shyly. She continued to add things to her own cup. It appeared to be copious amounts of cream and sugar, diluting the black liquid to a tannish color. I smiled wider.

"Actually it seems as if we like our coffees the same way", I grinned. Her smile seemed to widen.

"Who would've thought", she smiled. "I don't know about you Spence, but I don't feel like doing much of anything anymore. But my life could use a little more Disney right now, you up for a movie? I'll even let you pick", she said waggling her eyebrows in a ridiculously adorable way. I couldn't help but laugh at her, and apparently neither could she. We both giggled before I answered.

"That sounds lovely Av", I said truthfully. Her smile looked as if it could rip her face in two, and we both headed to the family room.

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Sometime later we were happily curled up on the couch, coffee cups on the table in front of us, movie on the screen. True to her word, Avery and let me pick. After some thought I decided on The Little Mermaid; Avery had told me once that it was her favorite movie. Sure enough she'd practically squealed in happiness when I'd presented my choice. Which in turn, made me very happy, knowing that I'd made her happy. When she sat down, she'd immediately cuddled into my side and I wrapped my arms around her without a second thought. It was cozy, familiar, and unlike anything else I'd ever felt for someone. But I couldn't help but let the thought of Avery and Morgan together creep into my mind. Had they curled up like this? Had his arms been around her too? The thought alone made me sick. I had to ask her about it, but it took me several minutes to work up the courage. What if she said she did like Morgan more than me? What if I'd read the situation completely wrong? Nervously, I cleared my throat, and Avery looked up at me concernedly.

"Something wrong Spence?" she asked gently. I cleared my throat again and shook my head.

"No nothings, uh, nothing's wrong", I started, but the look on her face told me that she wasn't buying it. I sighed. "It's just…" The disbelief on her face immediately changed to worry.

"Spence. It's okay, you can tell me anything. Just let me know what's wrong, and I'll do my best to help, okay?" she said concernedly, grabbing my hand and turning to face me more directly.

"It's just…How do you feel about Morgan?" I blurted out. I wished I could take the words back as soon as they left my mouth, and replace them with something more casual. Something less spastic. Avery's concerned expression slowly changed into something more like confusion. She hesitated before answering.

"What do you mean Spence?" she said carefully.

"I mean, you just… just seemed really close when I came in and I just… wanted to know how you felt about him", I mumbled. Her confused expression stuck and I began to regret ever asking. "Never mind, you don't have to answer that", I finished, looking away from her in embarrassment. Just after I turned, I felt Avery began to shake. I turned back to her in concern, only to find that she was giggling at me. Confused and a little hurt, I gave her a questioning look.

"Oh I know I shouldn't be laughed but it's just, me and Derek? Laughable to say the least", she managed between her giggles. I felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over me. "I mean Derek is great, but I would never think of him like _that_", she continued. "He's more like my older brother. My much OLDER brother".

I grinned at her, elated for once that I truly had been wrong. Avery didn't like Morgan. She eyed me with a strange look, a smile still on her face.

"Why on Earth would you think anything was going on between Morgan and I? She asked curiously. "And more importantly, why did you care so much?"

I felt the smile leave my face as quickly as it had come. Damn. How was I going to explain things without exposing my feelings for her? Did I even want to conceal my feelings anymore? Now was as good a time as any to let her know I suppose. That's what my brain said, but my mouth wasn't as cooperative. I managed to stutter out a few syllables before Avery giggled and shook her head at me.

"How you could ever think I was attracted to anyone but you is beyond me", she said with a hint of wonder in her voice. I bowed my head near her shoulder, hiding my embarrassment at my idiotic ques…

Wait.

Did she just say she couldn't believe I would think she'd be attracted to anyone _except_ for me? No. She couldn't have.

But she did.

My head snapped up just as her face flushed bright read in realization of what she'd just said. I smiled, ecstatic.

"What did you just say?" I questioned happily. It'd sounded like she'd just blurted out her thoughts, much like I'd done earlier, and I sincerely hoped that was the case. It'd be much easier to admit my feelings to her if I could be sure she felt the same way.

"Well, uhm, I just, uh, you see", she stammered nervously. God she was adorable.

"Avery did you just say you were attracted to me?" I asked, trying and failing to play things cool. If at all possible her face colored redder, and she looked down and started fiddling with her hands.

"Duh Spence", she said, so quietly I almost missed it. I sat back, amazed at what I'd just learned. Avery truly did feel the same way I did. I sat for a moment and let that incredible fact sink in for a while, the grin on my face growing. It was like all my fears had vacated my mind, and all I could feel was overwhelming happiness. Avery must have interpreted my silence in the wrong way, because she started babbling like crazy trying to explain herself.

"I mean of course I'm attracted to you, how could I not be? You're so sweet and kind, and you're _beyond_ smart. You accept my family at face value, and you treat my kids like they're your own. And you're so cute and funny and dorky in a completely adorable way. Whenever I'm around you I feel so calm and happy and protected, and that doesn't happen to me. Ever. And I know I probably just screwed everything up by telling you that but I mean it doesn't have to make things weird between us Spence. I would choose being your friend over nothing because I can't imagine not having you around and…"

I knew I had to stop her babbling, because if I'd learned anything about Avery in the last few weeks it was that she could talk for any length of time. Especially if she was nervous. I didn't want her to retract what she'd blurted out; I'd be devastated if she did. This chatter could last forever if I didn't put an end to it. Feeling emboldened by her confession, I did the only thing I could think of to stop her mouth from babbling on and on.

I kissed her.

At first she seemed shocked, and froze underneath me and I felt fear run through my chest. Had I made a huge mistake? I started to pull away when I felt her respond. She relaxed into my kiss, bringing her hands towards my head, one wrapping in my hair and one grazing the side of my face. I moved my own hands down to her waist as our lips moved furiously against each other's. What had started out as an innocent way to stop her from taking back what she'd said (or admittedly not so innocent), had quickly turned into a heated lip lock. We poured all the frustrations the week had given us; the unsub, the fact that we couldn't admit our feelings to each other, the miscommunication with Morgan, all into one passionate embrace. As we finally broke apart, breathing heavily, I placed my forehead on hers and tried (unsuccessfully) to catch my breath. I finally opened my eyes, only to find a grinning Avery with her eyes still closed, forehead on mine trying to do the same thing. I smiled too, and watched as her beautiful eyes opened and locked onto mine. I pulled my face back a little, just to get a better look at her, and I ended up smirking at her in a very un-me like way.

"Sorry", I said, clearing my throat but still smirking. "I just needed a way to stop you from taking back what you said. It seemed like the best way". It was true, but I would have never ever done something like that with anyone else. I was ordinarily too shy, but I guess the panic of not wanting Avery to denounce her feelings for me overpowered my reason. And I for one was glad it did. She blushed and smiled, before looking down sheepishly.

"I wasn't going to", she admittedly quietly. "I meant what I said, I was simply going to allow you the opportunity to ignore what I'd said and continue being my friend. I seriously would've taken that over nothing Spence. Although it doesn't really seem like that's going to be much of an issue now", she looked up and smiled hopefully. I couldn't help but smile wider at that. At this point it felt like my face would crack in half, but I didn't mind one bit.

"No I don't suppose it will be. Not if I have anything to say about it", I said. When her hopeful smile turned into a full grown grin, I could help myself. I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes once more and leaned her forehead against mine, sighing contentedly.

"Happy birthday indeed", she said, happiness lacing her voice.

**Author's Note: Well I don't know about y'all but this was my favorite chapter by far. So much Avery/Spencer and the introduction of Avery/Morgan. What do you all think about these developing relationships? Leave a review, let me know what you think they'll all do next! **


	15. Chapter 15

Hello friends!

Other than this very short chapter I have no idea when I will update, but it regrettably will not be this weekend. I have some stuff going on, but I will update as soon as I can!

That being said, what do you want to happen with this story? I, of course ,have a plan for where it's going, but love your feedback and ideas! So review and let me know what YOU want to happen, and maybe I can add in a bit just for you :)

Chapter 15:

Avery's POV:

When I awoke Friday morning I was confused, unsure of where I even was. Groggily, I looked around me at my surroundings only to find that I was in our family room. I was too high up to have been on the floor, so I was probably on the couch. But why on Earth wasn't I in my bed?

Oh.

Suddenly I remembered the events of the last few days. The reason I'd been too scared to sleep alone, and the reason I'd feared for not only the safety of my kids but for my own safety. That thing that somehow still managed to plunge my whole body in icy fear. That damn letter. I could remember every word, every letter, and every stupid thing it said:

_I will never forget the way you looked at me when we met. As soon as I found you, I knew you were perfect. Those other women couldn't be there for me like I know you will be. I can't wait another moment until we're finally together. I promise it will be soon love. _

_No one will keep us apart. _

Shivering, I tried to sit up and clear my head, but found that there was something heavy preventing me from doing so. I turned to see what was blocking my way, and I saw Spencer's peacefully sleeping face.

Oh.

Just as suddenly as I'd recalled the letter, I remembered the reason I was still curled up on this couch. Spencer's arms were what prevented me from getting up; they were still wrapped around my waist. Like he was still trying to protect me, even though he was sound asleep. I grinned and couldn't help but snuggle closer to him, just for a little while, breathing in his comforting scent. As I tightened my grip, he silently did the same. I stayed for a while, safe and happy in his arms. I wondered what it was about him that had made me fall so hard, so fast. I mean I'd gone from a twenty year old with little to no dating history, to a twenty something curled up on the couch with her boyfriend.

Was that what he was? My boyfriend? Last night after our kiss Spencer and I had simply watched the movie, and then fallen asleep in each other's arms. We'd never really discussed what it'd meant for either of us, nor what we were. Moreover, I didn't know what I even wanted us to be. Spencer made me feel so safe, so happy, but I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with how fast we were moving. I never thought a week ago that I'd be in this position, but here I was. And I was damn comfortable. Was this moving too fast? Did I even care if it was? At present I could say definitely not; how could I complain about anything with this wonderful man holding me close?

As I heard Amelia's cries from upstairs, I realized where we were. We were on Arrow's couch; surely if I'd had doubts about how quickly Spencer and I were moving he must as well. Best he didn't find us curled up like this. I slowly removed Spencer's arms from my waist, and climbed off the couch. He grumbled a little before turning over a bit and falling back to sleep. I giggled quietly before running up the stairs and grabbing Amelia out of her crib. I smiled at her, and began talking to her soothingly to calm her troubled cries. After going through our morning routine and checking on the still sleeping boys, I headed down the stairs with the intention of making Amelia's morning bottle and me some coffee. To my surprise, JJ occupied the couch where Spencer once laid. Raising an eyebrow, I silently asked her what was going on.

"Hey Av. Sorry to barge in, but the team needed Spencer for something. I'd just dropped Henry off at school so I decided I should come stay with you instead", she said smiling warmly. I felt my face drop when I realized that Spencer was gone, but quickly replaced it with a smile. It wasn't JJ's fault that Spencer had left, and it wasn't his fault that he'd had to go without saying goodbye, right? Surely he hadn't just left because he didn't want to talk about last night. No, he wouldn't do that. Would he?

"I was just about to make myself some coffee, care to join?" I said brightly to JJ, trying to shake thoughts of Spencer away. She agreed and we headed into the kitchen. Spencer would not leave quickly to avoid talking to me, would he?

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After a pleasant morning with JJ and the kids, she insisted we head over to the BAU. Apparently the team had some more questions for me about Sam. I'd been the one she was closest to me in the shelter, and she'd been the last one to receive letters from the guy who killed her. The guy who was now apparently sending me letters. As we piled in the car I wondered if I was going to end up like Sam; dead, abandoned by the man who was apparently obsessed with me. I shuddered again, and wondered what would happen to my kids when I was gone. Arrow was great, but he was gone for work a lot. He said himself that Haley's sister had watched Jack quite a bit before I came along. Trouble was my kids were of no concern to her. Where would they go? I was never, ever going to leave them. Spencer was right, this guy messed with the wrong girl.

"What are you thinking about", JJ asked softly. I looked at her and wondered what to say, should I let her know what I was worrying about? I wasn't sure she wanted to hear my morbid thoughts. Suddenly, I thought of a question that'd been practically burning my mind all morning. I couldn't help but ask JJ, I trusted her. Of all the team members, excluding Spencer and Arrow, I'd spent the most time with JJ. Each day she came and drove us all to my work, and in that time we spent in the car we'd talked about anything and everything. She trusted me with Henry, and I told her whatever was on my mind.

"How well do you know Spencer?" I started. JJ looked at me curiously before she replied.

"As well as anyone could I suppose? Why do you ask?" she said. I steadied myself, taking a deep breath.

"Well, we kissed last night and promise that's all we did, but I don't know it seems fast, probably cause it is too fast. I wasn't unsure about it then, but I'm wondering now if I did let things happen too fast, but I really like him. But he left so quickly this morning, maybe he's thinking the same thing I am. Which would really be awful, because clearly I do not know what I want", I rambled all at once.

JJ parked the car and turned to me, her face concerned, but she was smirking all the same.

"I'd like to think there was a question in there somewhere, but it all came out so fast that I can't be sure", she said, laughing a little. I scowled at her, and she laughed a little more.

"Well geez J. Kick a girl while she's down why don'tcha", I grumbled. She smiled sympathetically at me.

"Sorry sweetie, but it was just too easy" she replied, seemingly genuinely. "As for you and Reid, I personally think that you guys are perfect for each other. And I also think you're a smart girl and that you should follow your gut. If you think things are going too fast, slow it down. Reid is the sweetest man on the planet; trust me when I say that he will go along with whatever you want", she finished softly. I smiled. She was right. Maybe I did need to slow down.

"Thanks JJ", I said, gratefulness saturating my voice. I leaned across the center console and hugged her gently.

"Of course", she said smiling. We both got out of the car, grabbing the kids and heading inside. She bumped my shoulder with hers as we entered the BAU, smirking widely.

"So you kissed Spencer?" she practically squealed. I rolled my eyes and she laughed as we walked over to Arrow's office.

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After I'd gotten the kids settled in, JJ ushered me to the conference room I'd sat in yesterday. I waved to the team members present. Arrow sat near the head of the table, looking like he hadn't slept in days. Derek and Prentiss sat on one side, looking tired but not as exhausted. Spencer and Rossi sat on the other side, Spencer looking down at some kind of paper.

"Hey all", I said as perky as I could manage under the circumstances.

"Hey mama", Morgan answered at the same time that Emily and Arrow said "Morning Avery". Spencer still kept his head down, searching through his stack of papers. I felt my stomach drop; he didn't even acknowledge that I'd even gotten here. I passed the empty chair to his right, and sat myself at the other end of the table, and JJ filled the empty chair to his right. I folded my arms over my chest, looking everywhere but at Spencer.

"Alright guys, JJ said you have questions. So hit me". Rossi looked directly at me, clearing his throat.

"Avery early on in this investigation we noticed that each of the women… involved had tattooed skin, long hair, and light skin. Clearly you fit all those parameters, but we've began to think some of those tattoos may fit a certain pattern as well. We need you to explain each of your tattoos with us, and probably take pictures of them as well", he said. I nodded.

"Uh well I only have 5", I started. Emily's eyes bugged out, and Morgan scoffed.

"Only?" he questioned. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he chuckled. Arrow frowned.

"Avery, Derek, please stay focused", he said, rubbing his temples. I looked sympathetically at him before continuing.

"Sorry Arrow. So as I said, I have 5. On my foot I have an anchor with a heart incorporated. Nothing special about that really, just a popular Christian symbol for faith, strength, and hope. On my calf, I have a ribbon made out of some words. It's got different colors and fonts; it's for all the people that I'd ever known that had cancer. Each color is for a different person. Green is repeated 3 times, for my dad. On my ribs I have "Strength of the World is on my side" in cursive with a swallow. That was my first, my best friend has the matching "Strength of the World is on my Shoulder". She left the state when we were 17, she moved cross country and I haven't seen her since. I have Winnie the Pooh tattooed on my shoulder blade. It was my dad's favorite movie. He and I watched the VHS so many times the tape broke. My last one is the one you all see every day. The roses on my arm are just there because I think they're beautiful. Two of them have Henry and Amelia's names and birthdays inside the petals", I explained. They all listened with a sort of intensity that made me feel sort of nervous, on display. Sometime during my little speech Spencer had looked up and locked his eyes on me with an expression that I couldn't place. I broke eye contact with him and turned to Rossi.

"Does that help?" I asked. Rossi nodded.

"Perfect kiddo", he agreed.

"Why did you need to know? What tattoos did the other girls have?" I questioned. JJ took a bunch of pictures out of a file she was holding and slid them over to me. I looked them over for a while as the rest of the team talked quietly. I was acutely aware that Spencer's eyes were still on me the whole time, but I ignored him and studied the pictures. After a while, I frowned.

"Hey guys?" I questioned quietly. They all turned and paused their conversations. "I'm no profiler, but I think there's definitely a pattern here". They all looked at me questioningly.

"What is it mama?" Morgan said.

"Each of us has someone else's names, but not just that we have their birthdays too. Clearly we all have children. Not only that, but we each have some sort of overt symbol of Christianity", I said.

"You're right. We caught on to that last night, but we just wanted to be sure you fit the profile", Prentiss said. I frowned. I was no profile. I was a person.

"Hmmp. Glad I could help. I'm gonna go get some water and check on the kids", I said, quickly standing up and heading out the door before anyone could say anything. I could hear JJ call after me, but I continued on into the hallway anyways. Emily's words struck a nerve in me; I was no profile, and I wasn't a victim either. I hated that that was the way they saw me.

Not really wanting to face the boys when I was upset, I avoided Arrow's office. I walked into the break room and poured myself some coffee. As I stirred in my copious amounts of sugar and cream, I felt someone come up behind me and stop. Figuring JJ had run out after me, I sighed and spoke quickly.

"Sorry JJ, I just needed some air. Things just got a little too real, ya know", I said turning around. To my complete surprise JJ was not standing in front of me, but a very bashful looking Spencer. He had his hands in his pockets, and he was looking like he'd prefer to just run the other way. He cleared his throat nervously and shifted his weight from side to side. He just looked so adorably nervous, I couldn't help but give him a small smile of reassurance. Smiling a little bit at me, and looking more confident than when I'd first turned. He took a step closer to me, looking down at me with a look that made my knees go weak and said softly,

"I know".


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: I'm so very sorry about the lack of updates, and I won't give any excuses! But, lucky for us all, I have a decently long update for you all! Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of updating in a much more timely fashion, but that's partially dependant on you guys! Leave me reviews, let me know what you think; they truly do keep me going! So here's the chapter, let me know what you think, and most importantly REVIEW :)

Chapter 16

Avery's POV:

Stunned, and a little dazed, I said the only thing that came to mind.

"Sorry I thought you were JJ", I stammered, giving him what I thought was a reassuring smile, but what was probably a nervous grin. Though I'd talked to JJ about what I was feeling for Spencer, I couldn't recall a single thing she'd said. I couldn't remember a single thing I'd said. Hell, I couldn't remember my own name. Not when he was standing there looking so adorably nervous and vulnerable. I just wanted to grab him and hug him until he never doubted his wonderful self. He shrugged, as if to say it was okay.

"I figured as much, but I hope you're not disappointed to find it's just me", he said self-consciously. I reached behind me and grabbed the counter; I was seriously fighting the urge to help him realize just how special he really was. I had to keep reminding myself that I wanted to slow things down. I shook my head vehemently, trying to convey just how okay I was that he was here. I shook my head for a while, trying to fathom how he could even think that I would ever be disappointed that he was near me. This man really didn't know how great he was, how much I loved having him around. Realizing I'd been shaking my head for an abnormally long time, I cleared my throat and spoke up.

"Spencer, why would I ever be disappointed to see you?" I questioned. He brightened a little, but looked down at his feet all the same.

"I thought you might have, uhm, regretted what ah happened yesterday", he mumbled so softly that I had to lean in closer to hear him. I felt my heart tug at his obvious heartache. Maybe JJ was right; maybe he did like me as much as I liked him. I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and placing a hand on his arm and giving it a small squeeze. When I did, he looked at his arm but still didn't look up at me. I frowned.

"Spence. Look at me please", I begged softly. When he finally met my eyes, I smiled at him and continued in a soft but resolute voice. "Spencer, I do not regret what happened. At all". His face softened a little, a small smile playing on his lips, but his relief didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Really?" he said unsurely.

"Of course not!" I reassured him. Then I frowned again as a thought struck me, did he regret what'd happened? I knew I didn't; things may have happened sooner than I would've wanted, but I still didn't regret kissing him. It was more like I'd enjoyed it way too much for someone I'd only known a week and that freaked me out. But maybe he had serious regrets or reservations or something. Silently I began to panic, until I finally blurted out, "Do you?"

He looked, in a word, disturbed. He mimicked my earlier motions and began shaking his head violently, but in his case he also waved his hands.

" No no of course not. I mean, how could I…of course not! Why would I ever regret…no!" he rambled quickly. I giggled at his flustered state. Before I could even think, I found myself hugging Spencer quite tightly. Once I realized what I'd done I decided slowing down could be damned, and I tried to convey my immense relief into that small display of affection. Relief that he seemed to return; he stiffened at first, but then wrapped his arms securely around my waist. I sighed in contentment before reluctantly releasing him and attempting to step back. As I moved to step back, I found that Spencer was still holding me quite tightly. I grinned, and brought my arms back to where they belonged; if we were going to start taking things slowly, I should still get to enjoy this hug while it lasted, right?

Spencer's POV:

Trying to explain the vast relief I felt when Avery explained that she didn't, in fact, regret kissing me last night would be like trying to explain the way that black holes function in space. Easy, completely comprehensible for me, but a total mess for everyone else. Except for maybe Avery. I'd tried to explain black holes to her once, and she'd patiently listened and seemingly caught on. I couldn't be sure, but I got the feeling that she would nearly always understand what I was trying to say, no matter how fast I said it. She certainly had a knack for making me feel accepted and worthwhile. Currently, she was making me feel both of those things, along with a whole host of other emotions, as she wrapped her arms around me. Noticing that I'd been too caught up in my race to explain that no I couldn't possibly regret doing the thing that I'd thought about since meeting her to hug her back, I quickly brought my arms up to her and tightened our embrace.

That was a whole problem in and of itself. How could Avery truly believe that I was in anyway regretting what had happened? Surely she knew that I'd only asked because I'd been sure she would regret it. How could she not? She was so lovely and kind; beautiful in every sense of the word. I, on the other hand, was socially inept and awkward. The way her voice had gotten so small, so unsure of herself had made my entire stomach tie in knots. I hoped to never hear her wonderful voice become so un-Avery like ever again.

As she loosened her arms and attempted to step back, I kept my arms firmly around her. I wasn't going anywhere soon, and I needed her to see that. That I didn't feel any remorse for my actions last night, and I was going to be there for her as long as she wanted me. I believe the message came through, because soon I felt her arms around me once more and her smiling face in the crook of my neck. It was peaceful and perfect; we were in our own little world of safety and comfort for an immeasurable amount of time. Finally though, reality set in, and we broke apart. I didn't even really step back however, preferring to stand near to Avery and grasp her smaller hand in my much larger one. She didn't seem to mind, and I smiled, noting the clear happiness written across her face.

"Spencer I'm not sure what would make you think that I would ever be upset that we, I mean, that we kissed", she said, blushing a little. It was adorable; even though she had seemed so self-confident she was uncharacteristically bashful when it came to talking about this sort of topic apparently. I'm not entirely sure why, but I found it completely endearing. In fact, knowing she was shy about this topic only made me want to kiss her heated face all the more.

"But regardless, I obviously don't. I do want to talk to you about it a little", she continued. I stood a little straighter. What did that mean? What would we need to talk about things? Was she really mad and had just been trying to save my feelings? I felt my palms begin to sweat, and my heartbeat pick up. Sensing my slight panic, Avery grasped my hand tighter and began rubbing small, soothing circles over my knuckles.

"Don't worry Spence, it's nothing bad; I promise. I just think that maybe we've been moving too fast. Like I've never felt like this with anyone, and I've really never truly dated so I have no frame of reference, but I'm pretty sure that we kind of skipped some steps. I mean we've barely known each other for a week, and it's been a pretty strange week for me to make matters worse. I'm not saying we should really stop talking or hanging out, because to be honest the idea of that makes me really upset, but maybe we should try to slow down? Stick to just talking and hanging out for now? And I know that probably sounds kinda dumb, but it's just something I've been thinking of this morning", she said all at once. I cleared my throat and spoke up.

"Avery, of course that's okay", I said, to her visible relief. "I mean I've never been in a relationship ever, and we both know I don't understand social conventions, so I completely trust your judgment on that part of this. And even if that weren't the case, I trust you and I respect what you want. If you want to slow down that's fine with me. As long as we don't stop talking, because I'm not sure if I could just stop hearing your voice everyday". She smiled widely, looking down at her feet briefly before returning her gaze to my face.

"You would never believe how relieved I am to hear you say that", she breathed. I grinned at the genuinely happy, relieved look on her face. She and I amiably chatted about topics that were much less serious, returning to the easy banter we usually had. After a while, JJ came in to ask whether or not Avery was up to answering some more questions. Avery agreed, and we returned to the conference room.

Avery's POV:

After answering some more questions, my brain was exhausted. I'd been through a lot in the past few weeks, and a lot in the past few days. Emotionally and mentally I was just done. As we were wrapping up our day and were heading out, Emily pulled me aside.

"Hey Avery, I'm sorry if anything I said offended you earlier. I tend to just say everything as bluntly as possible. I'm really trying to work on it, and I'm truly sorry if I hurt your feelings", she said sincerely. I gave her a reassuring look.

"It's okay Emily. I think I might just be a little extra sensitive lately, it really wasn't a big deal. Promise", I said, smiling. It was true, I'd kind of overreacted to what she'd said; she was just doing her job. She looked only slightly placated.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really really", I said genuinely. Just to prove that there were no hard feelings, I reached forward and pulled her into a hug. She was sort of stiff at first, but eventually eased into the embrace.

"Okay. Well I was just heading out to my gym", she said stepping back. "It just so happens that I have a guest pass, and I was told by a certain team member that you love to work out. Now since you really really aren't mad at me, and you like it so much, you should have no problem coming with me right?" she said looking at me hopefully. I smiled sadly; as great as working out seemed (and it seemed fantastic) I couldn't just leave the kids alone with anyone. Morgan and Arrow looked as if they hadn't slept in days, JJ kept checking her phone like she was itching to go, and I didn't even know where Penelope was.

"Prentiss, as much as I would absolutely love to work out, I can't. I have to take the kids home", I explained. She gave me an exasperated look.

"Actually you do not need to take the kids home", I heard a deep voice call from behind me. I turned to see a bemused looking Arrow standing in the doorway. "I wanted to spend some time with them anyways, so now would be the perfect opportunity for you to go out". My face must have betrayed my skepticism and concern, because as soon as I opened my mouth to retort he held up a hand to stop me. "I know you probably think I'm exhausted, but honestly? So are they. And all I wanna do is hang out with the kids for a while before nap time. For all of us", he said sincerely.

"Arrow are you sure?" I asked. He shot me a look that clearly said 'are you serious', so I threw my hands and grinned. Emily smiled as well and we all headed out.

SPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERY

I couldn't help but smile as Prentiss and I returned from the gym. It really had been a good workout, and I hadn't really remembered how much I loved exercising until I'd gotten the opportunity. And also getting to talk to Emily had really helped us warm up to each other; I was glad that we'd gotten the chance to get a little closer. Out of all the team members we had been the most distant, but hopefully after today that wouldn't last long. She really was a great person, I'd just never stopped to see it before.

"And you really haven't worked out in how long?" Prentiss questioned as she drove back to my house. We were both a bit tired and disgustingly sweaty, but none the less happy (gotta love endorphins!). I chuckled.

"I mean pushing that damn stroller was no joke, but other than that no. I had to watch the kids all the time", I said lightheartedly.

"I can't even imagine", she replied. "Literally all the time? There wasn't anyone you could leave them with?"

"Well I didn't let anyone I worked with know where I'd been living, and I don't have any friends that live around here anymore so not really", I said casually; Emily gave me a surprised look. "Don't get me wrong, I'd have told them if they asked but it was just a whole lot of drama and pity I didn't feel like dealing with. I did tell one of my friends at work, her name's Olivia. She's probably my best friend, at work or elsewhere. Anyways, she knows everything about me, but she's got a two year old son Carson to worry about. So I never took her up on her offer to take the kids for a night".

Prentiss threw me a more sympathetic look than I'd ever seen on her face. I hated that look, people had been giving to me my whole life. So I continued, "Every once and a while I let David, Sammy's son, watch them. I mean his family stayed in the room right next to us, and it was always only for a little while so I could go run or something".

Emily nodded, seemingly satisfied as we pulled up the driveway. I started to say my thanks, once again, but before I could begin she'd already shut the car off and opened her door. Seeing the probably questioning look on my face she spoke.

"Oh come on, you really think that I'm going to let you walk all the way into your house alone? Get real", she chuckled. I giggled and followed her into the house.

"Yeah yeah" I replied, turning my key in the door and beginning to open it up but looking at Prentiss behind me. "You know we should really do this again, it was…"

"SURPRISE!"

I jumped slightly as I heard a bunch of voices yell from inside the house just as a bunch of lights flipped on. I stared at the ecstatic looking faces of Penelope, Arrow, Derek, Spencer, Rossi, the kids, and Olivia standing in my living room. They all were smiling so hard I thought their faces must hurt. I was completely bewildered, not to mentioned surprised and confused. As realization dawned on me I felt a smirk pull across my face as I spoke up.

"Only you all would throw me a surprise party when I'm all sweaty and disgusting".


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: This update's quick upload can almost solely be attributed to MiaR and Sue1313! I loved their reviews on the last chapter, so thanks guys! I really appreciate it! I hope everyone likes this chapter, but the only way that I'll know is if you REVIEW :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything outside of Avery and her little family!

Chapter 17

Spencer's POV:

As Avery opened her front door and we all yelled 'SURPRISE' I savored the lovely surprised look on her face with a huge smile. I was beyond happy to see her surprised expression morph into that cute little smirk that I've grown so fond of.

"Only you all would throw me a surprise party when I'm all sweaty and disgusting", she chuckled. I laughed too, simply because she had. I was fairly powerless when it came to her sweet little giggles. It was only then that I realized that she was as she put it 'disgustingly sweaty'. Except, I didn't find her disgusting in any capacity. In fact, I thought she looked beautiful with her hair plastered to her forehead and her skin all shiny and glowing. As she excused herself upstairs to change, I couldn't help but think of Avery at the gym. From what I'd gathered about her over these past few weeks, I only assumed that she attacked her exercise routine with as much passion as she did for everything else in her life. I could practically picture her wonderful features tightened in concentration as she was working out. I'd be an atrocious liar if I didn't admit that the mental image was…endearing.

But we were taking things slowly, so I shook my thoughts of Avery exercising, and returned to the party at hand. I was glad that she was seemingly excited about the surprise, given that she'd initially been apprehensive of the entire idea. Hopefully she'd be able to muster up enough excitement to play along, because Garcia was beyond excited. Somehow I doubted Avery would ever show anything less than her usual fervor, even if she was annoyed. I don't think she would be upset however; Garcia had gone to her usual lengths to make this party amazing. She'd even managed to invite Avery's best friend, whom I'm pretty sure was named Olivia. I was fairly certain I'd caught her unceremoniously staring at me a few times. Perhaps it was her own way of judging me. Seeing if I were good enough for her best friend I suppose, and given that she was the only friend I'd ever really recalled Avery mentioning this seemed like a big deal. The thought was terrifying. Sure, being judged by Hotch was scary, but if I considered all the knowledge I had about women, then I could only surmise that being judged by a girl's best friend would be exponentially more petrifying. Additionally, I was certain that Avery would seriously value her opinion.

As Avery returned down the stairs, clad in her usual leggings, t-shirt, and bandana tying her hair I couldn't stop the huge smile that spread across my face. I just hoped I met Olivia's standards.

Avery's POV:

As much as I hated to admit it, I really was enjoying this surprise party thing. I mean I could count the amount of actual birthday parties I'd had on one hand, but somehow this one beat every one of them. I was initially really excited to see that, some way or another, Penelope had gotten Olivia and Carson to come as well. After all the talking I'd done about my new family (and trust me it'd been a lot) I was beyond enthused to finally have her meet them. If her reactions to our conversations were any indication, she would be all too curious to see them in real life. I sincerely hoped she liked and approved of them, after all she was my best friend. Her opinion was important to me, but at the same time I wanted my new family and friends to approve of Olivia too. All in all it was promised to be an exciting, if not nerve-wracking, night for me.

As the night went on I became more and more relaxed. Olivia and I had always been able to communicate through our facial expressions, and based on the ones she was sending my way, she loved my new friends. I already figured she would love Penelope; they were practically the same person, both a little over-the-top and crazy, but totally lovable. They both also apparently had an extreme sense of attraction to Derek Morgan. The look that Olivia had shot me after speaking to Morgan had clearly said 'Oh damnnnnnnnnnn'. I'd had to roll my eyes at that one; Olivia may think Derek was attractive, but I knew that she was completely head over heels for her boyfriend, Carson's dad. She seemingly approved of everyone she'd met, and she'd met nearly everyone.

Nearly.

She hadn't given me any clues as to whether or not she liked Spencer yet. Maybe I was overthinking things too much, but it seemed to me that Olivia was purposefully keeping a very straight face while anything regarding Spencer had happened. And Spencer was also the only member of the team she hadn't directly spoken to. I sincerely hoped that she wasn't planning on cornering him or something. Cause nothing spoke truer to Olivia than the Shakespearian quote, "And though she be but little, she is fierce". What if she secretly hated him and was just waiting to chewing him out privately? What if she scared him away? I couldn't stop thinking about it.

As I tried to push away my anxiety, the party was in full swing. I had to give it to Penelope, she did an amazing job. The kids were happily occupied with their candy they'd won during some of the games that she'd organized. Amelia, however, had been asleep for the majority of the party, although she'd never made it to her crib. Rather my enthusiastic party guests had preferred to shift her from person to person, leaving her sleeping peacefully in their arms. Currently she was with Spencer, as he watched with kids with a contented look on his face. I smiled, feeling some of my anxiety fade away; how could Olivia dislike Spencer? There was just no way.

"Okayyyy! Time for presents!" Penelope squealed. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, and I saw Olivia chuckle.

"Ohh don't worry Avy-baby. You can't get hurt by a few presents", Olivia said loudly. Everyone else chuckled, and I settled in to watch Henry rip open a few presents. He got more and more excited each time, and Jack seemed to be just as happy as him. Carson just sat on the floor ripping up the discarded paper like it was the most entertaining thing he'd ever done. I just plopped myself down on the floor next to where Spencer sat on the couch and watched with amusement. Everyone seemed really happy, and though I wasn't thrilled to be receiving hand-outs, the kids were really happy. And besides I'd already bought the essentials for my kids and me myself. Second-hand, and from the daycare I worked at, but they were our things. So what harm could a few toys do?

"Alright Avery your turn", JJ said. I did my best to put on a happy smile, but Derek just rolled his eyes at me.

"Don't be weird, just open your dang presents", he said, laughing. I fake saluted.

"Yes sir", I mocked before beginning to open them. One by one I opened them up, reacting pleasantly to each one. A new CD from Derek, some new band t-shirts from Olivia, and some other odds and ends from the others. All and all, it really wasn't so bad. At least I'd gotten through a Penelope party relatively unscathed. As I stood up to thank everyone, I heard Spencer clear his throat next to me. I turned to see him nod his head towards something on the floor near me.

"I ah think you missed one", he said flashing me that smile that I loved. The quirky, self-conscious one that made me melt. I smiled back, grabbing the last present and ripping it open. When I caught a glimpse of what was inside, I gasped, my hand flying to cover my gaping mouth.

"Avery? What is it sweetie?" Penelope questioned. I paused, a little too surprised to respond.

"It's a locket I've been wanting for practically my entire life. And there's another one, but I don't understand", I looked at Spencer curiously. "Why two?" He shot me that smile again before nervously clearing his throat again.

"Well I remembered how you said you'd always wanted one, and how you'd put a picture of your kids in there, one for each side. I thought maybe Amelia would want one too, for pictures of you and Henry…", he smiled sheepishly and trailed off. I grinned so hard I thought my face might fall off, and I swear if he weren't holding Amelia, I would have tackled him in the biggest hug of his life. Since my baby girl was indeed asleep in his arms, I settled for jumping on the couch and hugging his shoulders the best I could.

"SPENCER. This is the best present ever. Thank you!" I said smiling wide at him. He looked flustered; probably because I'd just hugged him in front of everyone. I gave him one last smile before standing up and heading towards Olivia with the box.

"Help me put it on?" I asked her happily. She looked amazed, and just nodded. I turned around and she began clasping the necklace around my neck.

"Babe. You're right. He's such a keeper", she whispered as she finished with the small clasp. I felt my smile widen. To anyone else in the room, it would've seemed like I was just excited about my necklace, but we both knew that she'd just given me the best gift of the night. My best friend didn't hate Spencer, in fact she loved him. She loved my whole new family. I was finally surrounded by people who cared about me. Maybe Penelope should throw these parties more often.

Spencer's POV:

Avery's party was quite possibly the greatest party that I'd ever been to. Not that I'd been to a lot of parties, but even so I was sure this one would have beaten any of them. The sheer amount of happiness I'd seen radiating off of Avery's face all night was enough to have put me in a good mood for days. I was walking on air as they say.

As I headed out the door with Morgan, we turned to say goodbye to Hotch. Avery and Olivia were upstairs putting the kids to bed. Apparently Carson, Olivia, and Garcia wanted to spend the night, and Avery couldn't have looked happier about it. I sent one last smile up the stairs before heading out the door. Morgan was standing near Hotch, saying goodbye, when I stopped; I saw something on the front steps. Frowning, I bent down to pick it up. When I did, I felt all the happy feelings from tonight completely dissipate. Every smile, every laugh, completely forgotten. Wordlessly I turned to the three still in the doorway, holding up what I'd just found.

An envelope. Addressed to Avery. Same as the first.

The unsub that was stalking Avery had been here, left this note while we'd all been inside. The mere thought made my blood boil in a way I'd never thought possible. I watched as the blood drained from their faces. Morgan looked like I felt. Ready to cry or kill someone. Hotch paused only for a moment before he grabbed the letter from me, turning to watch his back.

"Listen close. We are not telling Avery about this. Not yet", he said, very hushed, quick voice. Seeing the apprehension on our faces, he continued, "The last letter frightened her. Too much. I am not letting her life be ruled by fear, not until we have an idea of who this unsub is. So for now, we are not mentioning this. But we are going to find this son of a bitch, as fast as we can. Clear?"

Reluctantly Morgan and I nodded.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, but I think you all will appreciate this chapter enough to make up for the awful wait! We get to see more girl time between Avery and her friends, and even an angry Avery. Exactly why she's so angry, well you'll have to read to find out ;) I hope you guys enjoy, but let me know and leave a nice long review!

Warning: This chapter contains some pretty coarse language, so read at your own discretion!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 18

Avery's POV:

"I just don't know guys", I said, anxiously chewing on my lower lip as my friends eyed me with poorly concealed concern. Currently, Penelope and Olivia were perched on my couch in their PJ's hanging onto my every word. After our first sleepover following my birthday party a few weeks ago we'd unanimously decided to make them a near monthly event. As I'd predicted, Olivia and Penelope were instant friends, and I couldn't have been more excited to find out that my best friend and my new friend (who was speedily working her way up to best friend) not only got along, but genuinely enjoyed hanging out together. Arrow and the rest of the team (sans Garcia obviously) were all out working some case or another in a different state, so I'd decided that this weekend was the best time for our second girl's night. We had put all the kids to bed hours ago, and were contentedly lounging in the living room chatting about anything and everything.

To my discomfort, the group's focus was now on me as I tried to explain the complexity that was Spencer and I's relationship, or lack there-of. In the past weeks following my party there had been a change in the way that he behaved around me; subtle, but wholly worrisome nonetheless. He still texted me every day, but that was about the only thing that had stayed constant with him. Before, he and I tended to stand near each other as often as we could, but now he seemed to keep a far distance from me at all times. He never got close to me, in any situation, and If his arm did happen to brush mine for any reason, he would jump like he had been burned or something. I was confused and more than a little hurt by the way he'd been acting, but refused to say anything about it to him. If this was what he wanted, then who the hell was I to make him feel bad about it?

"I mean it's been like three weeks, and I'm starting to think I dreamt the whole thing", I fussed nervously. They both frowned at me and Penelope shook her head.

"No no no if there is one thing on this Earth that I know it's, well it's computers… but outside of that I know for a fact that Dr. Spencer Reid has the biggest puppy-love crush on you!" she babbled. I shrugged sadly in response.

"I think 'had' would be the more appropriate way to say that Pen. He 'had' a crush on me, and now he's moved on", I argued.

"Yeah, no. Av you don't see the way he still looks at you. It's so freaking romantic that it's like something straight out of some kind of sappy Lifetime movie", Olivia exclaimed dramatically. I rolled my eyes at her, but felt my face flush nonetheless. I smiled a little bit at the idea of Spencer's eyes on me, but quickly shook it off.

"Really? Then what's with all the crazy weird distance lately? I mean we only kissed that one time, but jeez you'd think he'd at least let our damn arms touch for longer than a half a second", I sassed huffily. This time it was Olivia's turn to roll her eyes.

"Oh I don't know, maybe cause a certain freak of a geek told him that she wanted things to happen more slowly?" she said pointedly. I felt the sass fade from my face as realization dawned on me. I clasped my hands over my face and groaned loudly.

"Okay I'm an idiot", I mumbled, the sound dulled from behind my hands. Of course Spencer was going to take things slowly, that's what I'd freaking asked him to do! Being the sweetheart he was, he'd taken everything to heart and done everything he could to slow our physical relationship down. Somehow, knowing that made the weight of uncertainty and sadness lift from my shoulders. Penelope patted my shoulders sympathetically, and Olivia clapped her hands.

"Okay! Now that that stress fest is over, I vote we return to my original question: are you going to sing at church tomorrow?" Olivia asked. I laughed, the question had long since been forgotten, though I did remember her asking early on. But one side comment had led to another, which had ultimately somehow led us to talking about Spence. Not that it took much coaxing for me to talk about my favorite genius, but it was funny how far off topic we'd strayed.

"Yeah. I mean I am in the choir now", I answered. It was true, in the time it had taken me to convince Derek to go to Olivia's church with me was the exact amount of time it took for her to volunteer me to sing on Sundays with the choir. Not that I minded, I loved to sing and Olivia knew I'd probably never sign up on my own. She nodded approvingly, meanwhile Penelope looked like she was going to blow a gasket.

"You like to sing!" she practically exploded. I raised an eyebrow at her sudden enthusiasm, but noncommittally nodded. Olivia rolled her eyes again, a bad habit I'm sure she was quickly taking from me, and interjected before I'd even opened my mouth.

"Oh please. This child loves to sing, and I'll be damned if she's gonna sit here and act like she doesn't", she sassed. I stuck my tongue out at her childishly, a gesture that she soon returned. Penelope just seemed to ignore our foolishness, and excitedly waved her hands.

"So you do? Oh my goodness I have the best idea ever!" she gushed. "I may or may not have headlined a production at this tiny little theatre downtown that may or may not be holding auditions in the next few weeks for our summer musical!" she practically screamed with a grin so large I thought her face would break. I smiled out of sheer amusement at her clear happiness, but managed to give my most sympathetic face in spite of the smile.

"Pen, as much as I would love to do a musical, and I really would, I don't see how that would work out", I said honestly. "I mean I work all day, and I have the kids pretty much to myself most nights since the team's been out of town so much". It was true, the team had been gone for at least a week now out of the three that had passed since the party. I could tell it was starting to weigh on Arrow that he wasn't here as much as he'd liked, and I also could plainly see that he didn't want me alone. Ever. As much as I wanted to believe that this impromptu sleepover really just that, impromptu, I had a feeling that Arrow had coaxed Penelope into asking to stay this weekend. Each time he'd been gone she suddenly wanted to hang out, and if not her then JJ would suddenly decide to stay back to hang out. I appreciated their concern, but it was beginning to be somewhat stifling to never be alone. I'd gone from having next to no companions, other than my kids, to never having a single second to myself. I loved my new friends, I really did, but in my opinion there was nothing to worry about. I'd only ever received that one letter, and that was all of a month ago. Maybe my stalker had decided I really wasn't all I was cracked up to be and backed off. Either way I saw no reason I couldn't take care of my family alone; I was a grown ass woman for goodness sakes.

"Well rehearsals are only like three nights a week for a few hours, so it wouldn't interfere with work, and I'm sure that I could watch the little darlings while you're away", Penelope pressed. I frowned.

"Aren't you auditioning? Won't you have to be there too?" I asked curiously. She shook her head.

"Singing/dancing isn't my gig. I'm just doing makeup, so I won't need to be there until dress rehearsals", she explained. I still furrowed my brow.

"I would love to, I really would but that's a lot of time away from my kids", I fussed. Three nights a week sounded like a lot of time away, given that I was with them every night. Olivia frowned at me.

"Avery. You see them all day every day, and all night. It would not kill you to spend three nights a week to yourself. Seriously. You're the best mom in the world, but please take some time to yourself", Olivia said gently. I softened my expression. It was true, I could use a little me time. Plus I really did love musicals; maybe this was a better idea than I'd thought. Penelope nodded in vehement agreement.

"Yeah. What she said", she grinned. I smiled.

"I'll think about it", I promised. Penelope squealed and threw her arms around me. Knocked a little off balance by her sudden embrace, I giggled. I was secretly excited at the prospect of doing something creative and fun, for myself for once.

SPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERYSPENCERANDAVERY

The week following the sleepover was one of the most taxing I'd had for a while. Amelia was teething, which meant she was the fussiest I'd ever seen her. Anytime there wasn't a toy in her mouth she cried, and she refused all her food that wasn't from a bottle. Henry and Jack were coming down with colds, so they were cranky as well, and while Arrow was back in town he was working practically all the time. So to say I was stretching my patience thin was a gross understatement. At least I'd finally gotten my driver's license in the mail; I'd passed the test two weeks ago, but the actual card finally arrived, giving me more freedom than I'd ever thought possible. Although I still wasn't ever really alone, if anything the team had been even more on my ass now that I didn't need a driver everywhere. I'd been thinking more and more about the musical, and the more I thought the more appealing it seemed. I really did love singing, and it seemed that if anyone deserved a break it was me. Besides who knew if I'd even get in, they were called auditions for a reason, and there was no guarantee. So I'd called Penelope near the beginning of the week to tell her I was in. She squealed so loudly I'd had to hold the phone nearly a foot away from my face. She eagerly said she'd print out my audition song's sheet music for me so I could practice as soon as I wanted (the audition wasn't for another few weeks).

Currently, I was on my way to the BAU to get the sheet music from her. It was my lunch break from work, and I'd decided to bring Arrow some lunch too. He was starting to show signs of stress, and I swear he looked thinner. So I decided to be the good little niece and bring some food for him; it was the least I could do. As I parked the car, I mentally wondered if Spencer was around today. I wanted to speak with him and tell him that when I said we should slow down that that didn't mean he couldn't even stand near me. To be honest I'd missed having him near me, and I thought we were ready to start taking some steps forward, like maybe even a date of some kind? Not that I could come right out and ask him out, no way. That was a guy thing, and besides what if he'd reevaluated and no longer wanted a relationship? Had we ever even been in one to begin with? Gah.

With all my thinking, I suddenly realized I'd made it into the office without noticing. I looked around and spotted Spencer looking at me with a joyful expression from his little cubicle. I waved cheerily and walked over. As I approached him, he stood up and without asking I gave him a tight hug. He seemed taken aback at first, but eventually relaxed into the embrace, placing his arms naturally around my shoulders. I sighed contentedly; I hadn't realized how much I'd really missed having his arms around me until just now. I finally stepped back, and found Spencer's sweet grin plastered all over his face. I couldn't help but grin back; clearly he'd missed hugging me as well.

"I missed your hugs", I said, playfully shoving him a little. He smiled sheepishly, and ran a hand through his hair before placing it in his pocket. There, I'd told him to knock off the distance, in my own way anyways. I think he got the idea, because he stood quite near to me as I grinned at him like an idiot.

"Me too", he admitted softly, and I felt a million butterflies erupt in my stomach. I opened my mouth to reply, but was quickly interrupted.

"AVERY", I heard an unmistakable voice shout from behind me. I turned to find Penelope briskly walking towards us waving some papers in her hands. I smiled and waved, and Spencer just chuckled.

"I swear they heard that all the way across town", he said good-naturedly. I giggled.

"I'm sure they're used to it by now", I said cheerfully.

"Here it is Av. Your very own sheet music", Garcia said, slightly out of breath from practically running to me. I smiled and said my thanks as I took a look at the paper. Spencer looked between the two of us quizzically, his brow raised.

"Sheet music? For what?" he asked. Garcia was still out of breath, so I answered.

"Garcia convinced me to audition for a musical at her theatre", I summarized. Penelope just nodded.

"Yeah and I'm super happy for you, but I have to get back to the Bat-Cave now, there are a ton of things for me to nerd-ify and I gotta get to it", she explained, kissing my cheek and hurrying off in the other direction. I raised a brow, and waved to her now retreating form.

"Uh okay. That was weird", I stated, turning back to Spencer. He had a worried look on his face, and seemed like he had something to say. "What?" He hesitated before responding.

"It's just. I don't know if a stage performance is the best idea for you right now", he said carefully. Seeing I'm sure the confused look on my face, he backtracked quickly. "Not that you wouldn't be magnificent in" he looked down at the sheet music in my hands, "_The Phantom of the Opera_, I actually really enjoy almost all stage and film adaptions of that book, but I just don't think now's the time", he finished. I tried to give him the most understanding look I could, but in truth I was beginning to get annoyed with walking on eggshells around my whole life.

"Look Spence I get that you guys are all weirdly protective of me, and that's sweet and all, but I'm a grown woman. I can make my own choices", I said as carefully as I could. "I haven't heard from that crazy man in over a month, and I think he's decided to move on, and I want to too. Plus I need some time for me, and this is the best way to do it", I finished calmly. He didn't look convinced, and began clearly his throat and running his fingers through his hair again. As adorable as I found that, I wasn't backing down. The team had no business trying to make my decisions for me, and I meant business about this. I got the feeling that there was more Spencer wanted to say by the way he looked, but since he seemed to momentarily be at a loss for words, I decided to complete the task I'd come here to do.

"Well I gotta go give this to Arrow quick", I said, switching topics and holding up the bag I'd brought in. "See you on my way out?" He nodded absentmindedly, as if he was thinking about something else, and I took that as my cue to leave. I quickly walked up the stairs to the conference room (noticing that Arrow wasn't in his office), and had my hand on the door when I heard Spencer quickly yell,

"Avery, wait!"

I frowned and opened the door as I turned to see what he wanted. He motioned for me to come back down. I shook my head.

"I'll be right back!" I yelled down. He looked frantic and I briefly saw him start towards the stairs before I entered the room. The team was all sitting in their usual spots around the table, but they jumped up from their seats as soon as they saw me, and I frowned deeper. What was everyone's problem? I stepped further inside, Spencer right behind me, and began to speak to Arrow,

"Hey, I just thought I'd come and bring you some…" I started to explain before I trailed off. I saw what was causing all this fuss; what was in right in front of everyone that they'd tried to keep me from seeing. Arrow put his hands up, as if to caution me, and Morgan and Prentiss stood warily as I took in the sight in front of me. On the white board where the team collected the evidence for their cases was not just the letter I'd found from my stalker, but two more. Clearly addressed to me, clearly from the same guy. I felt all my emotions at once; fear, anger, rage, panic, distress, disbelief all swirling in my shocked mind.

"Avery…", Derek started to say, but I raised a hand to silence him as my emotions dissolved in pure anger rushing through my body. How dare they? How. Fucking. Dare. They. How long had I been lulled into false security? How much more was there being kept from me?

"Are you fucking kidding me", I spoke in a deadly quiet voice. No one said anything; they were all seemingly at a loss for words, so I seized the opportunity. "ARE YOU SERIOUS? How fucking long has this been going on? None of you considered that I'd want to know about this?! This is fucking disgusting I thought I could trust you! You've all lied to my damn face for God knows how long, and now you have nothing to say?! Fuck this", I raged as I turned to leave. Spencer looked guilty as hell standing in front of the door, and I paused to give him full view to the hurt and betrayal that was shining through my every pore.

"I can't believe you played along with this Spence", I said more quietly than I'd intended, but in truth the rage I felt was giving way to complete hurt. I felt like all the trust I'd had in my new friends was completely gone. I brushed past Spencer, who looked sadder than I'd ever seen him, and all but ran to my car.

As I drove back to work and finished my shift I couldn't help but let my thoughts run wild; I felt beyond confused and sad. As we got the kids ready to go outside to the playground I was completely distracted. I was so stupid to think something like this would just go away overnight. And this totally explained why everyone had been so instant that I never stay home alone. I felt like such an idiot for believing that I could have a normal life. And Spencer…

Fuck.

He'd lied to me as well, and I'd never suspected a thing. I was so dumb! He lied straight to my face, and never batted an eye. How could he do that to me? I thought he liked me. As the kids all excitedly filed outside I checked my phone for the time. I had about 20 missed calls from each of the team members, and a slew of text messages from Spencer. I replaced my phone in my pocket; even if I could have my phone out at work I wasn't ready to speak to any of them. I didn't even want to go home; Arrow was going to be there, and I had no intentions of talking this out anytime soon. I decided to try to push away my thoughts, as they were starting to circle and give me a headache. I threw all my energy into what I was best at, taking care of kids. I happily played with my three year olds, ignoring all the pain in my heavy heart. As I stood underneath the twisty slide, I noticed a little girl, Peyton, leaning way too far out of the side. I started to yell for her to sit down, but it was too late. I ran towards her as I watched her tiny body fly over the uppermost part of the slide. I managed to catch her before she hit the ground, but felt myself fall backwards as well. I heard a distinctly metallic crash, and recognized the taste of blood in my mouth before I felt my world slip into complete darkness.


End file.
